


Our Magic!

by FeliciaRei



Series: Our Magic! [1]
Category: Little Witch Academia
Genre: Action/Adventure, Canon Continuation, F/F, Gen, Multi, Romance, Slice of Life
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-08-02
Updated: 2018-07-16
Packaged: 2018-12-10 05:49:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 21
Words: 76,182
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11685369
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FeliciaRei/pseuds/FeliciaRei
Summary: LWA Season 2 (cour 3)! Magic's on the rise across the world—which has both positive and negative consequences—but what could be affecting Akko? (Besides her feelings for a certain blonde witch of course!) Spoilers for Season 1 (cours 1 and 2)





	1. Episode 01: The Legacy of the Claiomh Solais: Part I

**Author's Note:**

> Yahallo!
> 
> So you know what to expect: This is intended to be a season 2 of Little Witch Academia (and by Season 2, I mean after Episode 25)! There will be spoilers for Season 1 in here (obviously?). 
> 
> Akko is entering her second year at Luna Nova. Magic is on the rise the world over, which has both positive and negative consequences. As far as I am concerned, Diakko is irrefutable based on Season 1’s content so there will be movement in that direction. I don’t know what other pairings/shippings will show up, but there will be a few love triangles/polygons alongside the magical action (I mean, these are 16-17 year old girls, how can there not be love plotlines?!). Just like a normal season, I have plans for plot heavy “episodes”/arcs and slice-of-life material, but I plan to write as though they’re all real people so it might be different in tone from the show at times. 
> 
> This starts about a month after the finale of Season 1. The girls had a few months together after the climactic battle, Akko flew for the first time on May 1st, and they went home for break before coming back for the next year’s Matriculation Ceremony. So that’s where we are! 
> 
> Each episode is usually about 3-4 chapters of material (12-15K words) and I have plans to write at least 20 episodes. There are some steamy moments (got to earn that T rating), but any "deleted scene" that crosses over the line will be posted separately with a mature or explicit rating. 
> 
> This first “episode” gets a little intense. They won’t all be like that!

Episode 1: The Legacy of the Claiomh Solais  
Part 1

“What? You haven’t been able to fly since the May Fair?” Lotte exclaimed in horror at her friend’s admission.

“It’s a real problem, guys! I flew so effortlessly then, but since I went home I haven’t been able to fly at all.”

“That’s our Akko,” Sucy complimented her.

“Maybe if you showed us what you’re doing?”

Akko hesitated briefly, “S-sure! That sounds like a good idea.” She added under her breath, “I hope they can’t tell from this.”

Gripping her broom tightly, she shouted, “Tia Freyre!”

“Hmm. It’s like you didn’t even cast the spell,” Lotte offered.

“What were you thinking of when you tried?”

“Flying!”

“And what were you thinking of when you flew at the May Fair?”

“I wasn’t thinking! I was just happy everyone was there with me.”

“So you can fly if you think happy thoughts?” Sucy says dryly.

“Yes! No. I don’t know?”

Sucy cackles behind her hand while Lotte looks on concernedly. “Akko, we know you can cast spells correctly when you try. You can do this.”

“Either that or you’ll be the only second-year witch in Luna Nova history to not be able to.”

“Sucy!”

“At least it will match with her record of being the only first year witch with the same problem.”

 _Happy thoughts. Happy thoughts. Happy thoughts._ “Tia Freyre! Ah, c’mon! Tia Freyre!”

“Ah well. I wonder what’s for lunch?” Sucy asks, ignoring Akko’s repeated Tia Freyre’s now that she’s gotten into trying.

“Hmm. I don’t know. The term doesn’t start until tomorrow. We may be on our own.”

“Tia Freyre! Tia Freyre!”

“No chance of missing the Matriculation Ceremony this year though.”

“Tia Freyre! Tia Freyre! Tia Frey-ack,” Akko’s shouts devolved into a coughing fit.

“Akko? Are you OK?”

“Ye—a,” she stopped, continuing in a whisper, “I think I strained my voice.”

“Well, at least it will be quiet,” Sucy comments.

“Sucy.”

“What?”

Lotte shrugs, “When you’re right, you’re right.”

Akko streams tears, trying to croak out one final, “Tia Freyre!”

“Akko. Happy thoughts, remember?” Sucy admonished her.

ФЖФЖФЖФЖФЖФЖФЖФЖФ

Akko sat forlornly across from the concerned idol. “Akko?” The flame-haired bishoujo that had previously won the hearts of millions grew more distressed. “Akko? Why aren’t you speaking?”

Akko croaked out, “Do I call you Chariot-sensei? Ursula-sensei?”

“Oh!” Her cheeks did their best imitation of her hair as she answered, “Before you had asked me to stay your Ursula-sensei . . . ”

“Ursula-sensei!” Akko squeaked out a shout.

“Yes?” Ursula replied, gripping her chair to keep from falling out of it from the strained shout. Her glasses fell down her face.

“Ursula-sensei! I can’t fly again.”

Her teacher frowned in pain at the news. Almost more so than Akko, she wished for nothing more than Akko to fly freely. She stood and moved to her room’s icebox, opening it and taking out a container, before returning to her pupil. She held it out for Akko to take.

“Rum raisin ice cream will help me fly?” Akko asked hopefully.

Chariot sat once more, “That’s for your voice, Akko. It sounds like it hurts.”

“Thank you!” Akko pulled the lid and started licking the top.

“Conjure a spoon, Akko. I know you don’t come from a line of witches, but you’ve been here for a year now.”

Akko flinched as though struck, beginning to shudder. “Akko!” The older witch knelt beside her, throwing her arms around her pupil. “Akko, what’s wrong?”

Wracking sobs tore through her body. Although Akko was a crybaby, no one had ever seen her cry like this. “It’s not. Not flying. I-I haven’t. My magic!”

“Akko, what are you saying?!”

Akko sniffed and said slowly, concentrating on the words, “I haven’t been able to use any magic since I went home for spring break. Not just flying.”

“What?!” Chariot stared, horrified.

“Not even. Not even Metamorphie Faciesse.”

Ursula stood up to pace, “Could this be my curse? But you’ve recovered . . . And Diana has too.”

“Diana?” Akko stopped crying, “Do you think she can’t use magic now too?”

“I don’t know, Akko. I’ll try to reach out to Croix and see if we can figure out if this is a lingering effect of the Dream Fuel Spirit Magic or—or if it is something else. Why don’t you find Diana and see what you can find out in the meantime?”

Akko nodded, determined to find her friend. She stood and marched to the door, turning at the sound of her name. She snatched the spoon spinning through the air before it could pass. “Eat the ice cream before it melts, Akko.”

“Hai!”

ФЖФЖФЖФЖФЖФЖФЖФЖФ

Diana allowed herself to sigh, “They want me to do what?”

Hannah replied, her short ponytail swaying as she shook her head in commiseration, “They want the ‘Hero Witch of Luna Nova’ to save them.” Diana opened her mouth, but Hannah rushed to continue, “I know. I tried explaining about Akko, but they refused to believe. They kept saying, ‘the Hero Cavendish’.”

Diana considered it for a moment, “It is like they know the truth, but refuse it!” She was infuriated. _How dare they abuse Akko like that!_

_Akko? I mean, how dare they abuse any witch like that, and to take advantage to get me to come to them._

Hannah for her part looked upset she hadn’t been able to convince them, “It is not your fault, Hannah. Did they at least speak of what precisely they need saving from?”

“They left that out.”

“Diana!” The sudden shout broke into their conversation as Akko ran up. Diana caught Hannah’s eye and subtly shook her head. Hannah nodded. “Diana! Oh, hi Hannah! Where’s Barbara?”

“Welcome back, Akko. Barbara’s coming in later tonight.”

“Wow! I almost thought you two lived together. You’re inseparable.”

“We’re very good friends is all!” Hannah rushed to correct her.

“Yeah you guys are! Sometimes I can’t tell you apart—”

“Akko.” Diana’s clear voice cut through what she was saying and arrested the young witch’s attention. Hannah looked on astonished ( _Can’t tell us apart???_ ). “Did you have some reason for interrupting us _besides_ asking about Barbara’s absence?”

“Diana!” Akko shouted with renewed urgency.

“Yes, I am Diana.”

“Diana! Have you lost your magic too?”

Hannah gasped and looked in horror at Diana; even Diana was shaken. “No, I have not lost my magic. Why would you . . . _Too_?! Akko! You have lost your magic?” She finished in a furious whisper.

“Ah haha. It seems like it.” Akko scratched the back of her head as she tried to laugh it off. Diana’s eyes narrowed, cutting through the front Akko was putting on.

Before she could speak, Hannah did, “That’s horrible, Akko! You were just becoming reliable!”

Akko tried not to show how much that comment hurt, but Diana did not let it go, “Akko, you know Hannah did not mean it that way. We are all friends now. This is just—it’s quite a shock.”

Hannah’s eyes widened at Diana’s words. She hugged Akko hurriedly, “Akko, I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to hurt your feelings. We’re past that now! I just speak without thinking.”

“I guess we’re similar like that.”

“What are we going to do?” Hannah asked as she detached from the hug,

“I-I don’t know. Ursula-sensei is going to check on some things. I—please don’t tell anyone else.”

“What do your teammates think?” Diana asked.

“I don’t want to worry them.” Diana frowned, “I don’t mean that I want to worry you of course!”

“I know, Akko.”

“Diana . . . You’re really OK?”

“Yes, Akko.”

“That’s great!” Akko started crying in spite of the enthusiasm she tried to put behind her words. “That’s so great, Diana. I was so worried when Ursula-sensei said you might be affected too.”

Hannah could only witness this for a few seconds before hugging her tightly once more. “You’re such a good girl!”

“Ack, Hannah. I think you’re broken without Barbara.”

“Hush. Let’s go get some dessert. If the kitchen doesn’t have any, I wonder if Jasminka is back yet.”

Hannah started leading the sniffling Akko away, “I actually already had some ice cream . . . ”

Hannah ignored her to look back at Diana, “Aren’t you coming, Diana? I’m sure Akko could use the support.”

Akko looked at her hopefully. Shaken from her reverie, Diana cleared her throat before speaking, “You two go on ahead. I have some business to take care of.”

Hannah narrowed her eyes, “Are you sure, Diana?” A resolute nod was her answer.

Diana kept watching the two until they turned the corner. Hannah’s screech “What! You already had ice cream!” did not make her smile.

Her hand clenched into a fist, “It’s up to me now.”

ЖФЖФЖФЖФЖФЖФЖФЖФЖФЖ

 


	2. Episode 01: The Legacy of the Claiomh Solais: Part II

Just like the rest of the girls that had helped stop an ICBM and prevented a war, Diana didn’t consider herself a hero. She helped—perhaps she could even say she helped Akko the most out of everyone, but that was because Akko asked. Every decision, every single thing they were able to accomplish, all of it was because of Akko.

Diana was honored to have been a part of that day; to have been able to help Akko when she needed it most; to be able to jumpstart the World Reconstruction Magic.

But she knew none of it would be possible without Akko. Kagari “Akko” Atsuko. That Diana was getting attention that Akko deserved on account of her family name and—probably—her nationality was a slight she could not forgive.

 _Maybe it is for the best now._ If Akko knew of a town reaching out for help, she would go there even without any magic and do whatever she could to save them. _And she’d probably be successful on sheer stubbornness,_ Diana thought fondly.

“Tia Freyre.” Diana cast the spell stoically, but with additional power to kick off from the ground at breakneck speed. _Akko. Wait for me. I will make you proud. And I’ll do it before you notice I’m gone._

ФЖФЖФЖФЖФЖФЖФЖФЖФ

“That’s it, Akko. Drown your sorrows in ice cream,” Hannah encouraged. She turned to Jasminka, “By the way, how did you get so much ice cream in here without melting?”

Jasminka shrugged with her mouth full, “Hmm? Mmm.”

“I’m not complaining. This is great,” Hannah shoveled another spoonful of ice cream into her mouth. They were huddled in the Green Team’s room, away from Lotte and Sucy and in the presence of Jasminka and Constanze. At last, Akko tossed her container across the room into the trash, sinking it with ease.

“Ahhhh!” She screamed as she started rolling back and forth on Constanze’s bed. Sitting up suddenly, she grabbed Constanze from the ground and plopped her down in front, before wrapping her arms around her. Constanze started to complain, thought twice, then settled in and resumed eating her ice cream.

“Akko, you can’t just steal Constanze like that.” Hannah scolded her gently.

“I can’t help it. She’s the perfect size for this.”

“Just because she’s smol is not an excuse,” Akko looked up with teary eyes once more and Hannah relented. “Sorry, Constanze, please bear with it for now.”

Constanze flashed her a thumbs up and went back to eating, ignoring the larger witch enwrapping her. Hannah could tell Akko wanted to talk more, but didn’t want to say anything in front of the others. Hannah decided to wait for her to speak. As much as Akko wanted to talk about her own situation, she couldn’t help it when her thoughts turned to a certain blonde witch. “What’s Diana have to do even before the semester starts? She’s too nice to take on everything the teachers want her to do. She has her own responsibilities to worry about without Luna Nova adding to it.”

Hannah was a little stressed at Akko’s words. Jasminka’s smile faded for a moment before deciding to switch to eating her ice cream with chips. “Jasminka, how am I supposed to be stressed about not telling Akko about Diana when you’re eating ice cream with potato chips!”

“Ohhh?” Jasminka replied.

Akko snapped her attention from Jasminka’s eating habits to Hannah, “Wait. What was that? What aren’t you telling me?”

Hannah hung her head in frustration before snagging a potato chip to try on her own. Jasminka was never one to begrudge a friend. Her “mmhmm” was all the encouragement Hannah needed.

“She went to some town that asked for her to save them . . . ohmigod, Jasminka, this is amazing!” Hannah was distracted with her first bite of ice cream and chips.

“WHAT!” Akko screeched, unknowingly squeezing down on Constanze too hard. Constanze began struggling before a Stanbot activated and walked over to Akko, smacking her in the head.

“Ow!”

“ _bzt_ that’s right _bzt_ ” the Stanbot replied.

“Oh! Constanze! I’m sorry!” Akko released the smol witch and watched as she scrambled to get away. Akko reached her hand out after, “Come back.”

Constanze hid behind her Stanbot and shook her head at Akko. She sat down to start tinkering with some metal backpack looking thing. Akko hung her head in depression for a moment before turning back to Hannah, who was busy chowing down on chips and ice cream. “Hannah!”

“Ah! Yes. As I was saying, Diana went to . . . where was it? Wasdale Head I think it was?”

“But why would Diana do that? Is it something to do with the Cavendish family?”

“Um . . . not exactly.” Hannah looked around uncomfortably.

“Then what!”

“She did it because they wanted the Hero of Luna Nova to come save them. They sent the request through the school, and for some reason the school didn’t want to turn it down.”

“The Hero of Luna Nova? But that’s me!” Akko screeched, “I mean, I’m not a hero, but I’m the one that should be getting bothered, not Diana. She’s got enough to worry about!”

Hannah shrugged her shoulders and gestured vaguely at Akko, as if to say that Akko knows why Diana might take things on her own shoulders—especially after just their last conversation.

“Oh!” Akko erupted from the bed. “I need Lotte and Sucy!”

Jasminka and Constanze ignored Akko as she bolted from the room. A Stanbot stood up and shut the door behind her. Hannah stared after her perplexed. “Um . . . is it OK to let her go like that?” Constanze gave a thumbs up without lifting her head from her work and Jasminka hmmed in agreement before offering Hannah some more chips. “Wow, I never noticed how quiet your team is without Amanda.”

ФЖФЖФЖФЖФЖФЖФЖФЖФ

“Guys! We have to go to Wasdale Foot!” Sucy didn’t even turn her head from where she lay on her bed in some painful looking yoga pose. Lotte turned around at her desk calmly to look at their panting teammate.

“Wasdale Foot? What’s there?” Lotte asked. Sucy opened her uncovered eye to look blankly at Lotte when she spoke.

“Diana! She’s in trouble and needs me to save her!”

“That’s unlikely,” Sucy offered.

“I mean, Wasdale needs me to save them and Diana went in my place. I can’t fly, so I need you guys!”

“This still sounds unlikely.”

“I’ll let you try out your next potion on me!”

“Come on, Lotte. We need to help Akko.” Sucy slowly untangled herself and stretched her neck.

Lotte turned back to her desk, pulling out a map of England. “Lotte, there’s no time for maps! We need to go after her!”

“Do you know how to get to Wasdale Foot, Akko?”

“Oh, OK.” Akko dropped down on her bed. “But as soon as we find a path, we’ll go?”

Lotte ignored her and started examining the map. “Akko, there’s no place named Wasdale Foot. There is a Wasdale Head.”

“Yes! That’s it!”

Lotte didn’t even blink in surprise, expecting the answer. “We’ll have to go through a couple leyline terminals. There’s no direct path.”

“Alright Lotte! I knew I could count on you! Let’s go go go!” Akko jumped up, grabbing her broom and all but pushing her teammates out the door.

“What are you going to do with your broom, Akko?” Lotte asked.

“This is the one Constanze made for me. I figured it would go faster if you two towed me on it instead of having to ride double.”

“Have you been eating my mushrooms? That’s not an idea you would normally have.”

“We don’t have time to waste. You know how fast Diana is on a broom!”

ФЖФЖФЖФЖФЖФЖФЖФЖФ

“Chariot, you know I left Luna Nova the way I did so you wouldn’t have to see me like this.” Croix said without looking up from her reading.

Croix was in her once normal everyday wear of hoodie and sweatpants and surrounded by computers and books. Everything was as you’d expect for a research witch . . . minus the bars on the door. Chariot unlocked the door with a wave of her wand and entered to face her once closest friend. “I’ve been meaning to come.”

“You say that like it’s easy,” Croix stopped reading and turned to face her. “Don’t tell me you broke in to see me?”

“They owe me.” Croix was unsure of how to respond to that revelation. “I did a lot in the ten years between my last performance and taking the teaching position at Luna Nova, you know. I wasn’t just sitting around. Where did you think I learned to fight like that?”

“I just thought, ‘she’s Chariot, she can do anything.’”

Chariot blushed. “Ahem. Anyway, I need you, Croix.” Croix raised her eyebrow at that declaration. “Not like that. Listen. I can’t stop trusting in you. Even after everything that happened: what you tried to do to Akko, how you tried to release the Grand Triskelion, everything. I can’t stop trusting you.”

Croix’s eyes softened as she listened to her old friend. “A believing heart . . . ”

“I know I shouldn’t trust you anymore, but I need you now. Croix, will you help me?”

“Chariot . . . ” Croix broke their gaze, afraid of what her friend might see in her eyes. “I-I have a long way to go. I’m seeing a therapist,” At Chariot’s gasp, she continued, “It’s not as bad as you might think. I’m twisted Chari. Even if I was trying to do good, I was doing it for the wrong reasons and I went about it the wrong way. My entire life was lived in pursuit of that. Being here helps. Researching to try to undo the harm I’ve caused helps. But I have a long way to go. I don’t know what you’re expecting.”

“Croix, this isn’t something abstract I need your help with. You don’t even need to come out with me. I think it’s something we’ve both done and I need your knowledge.”

“What?”

“Dream Fuel Spirit.”

“Akko? Something’s happened to Akko?”

Chariot sniffed and nodded, “She’s lost all of her magic.”

“No,” Croix spun away, lifting her head and staring into the distance as though looking at pages of information in her mind. “That can’t be. Not from Dream Fuel Spirit.”

“Are you sure, Croix?”

“How can I be sure? I wanted to hurt you when I gave you that spell. This hurts, that’s for sure. But Dream Fuel Spirit doesn’t have a persistent effect. Once she overcame it there’s no way it would affect her again unless someone cast the spell again.”

“That’s what I was afraid of,” Chariot replied, even as she felt the relief that it wasn’t because of her sin.

“What about the other one?”

“Diana? She’s fine. She left Luna Nova flying away on her broom, so there’s no question that she still has her magic.”

“Then I’m sure it wasn’t from our spell. What could be . . . oh no.”

“What is it?”

“Claiomh Solais.”

“The Shiny Rod? It returned to the sky. Akko let it go.”

“Chari, do you remember what happened when I tried to take it from you? Just from touching it?”

“It hurt you.”

“Only the Chosen One can use the magics of Claiomh Solais,” Croix said it as though it were a death sentence.

Pensively, Chariot responded, “But Diana used it alongside of her. All of their friends rode the Shiny Volley with her.”

“I have a theory.”

“Tell me.”

“Akko must have taken it all on herself. Redirecting the magic through herself before exposing the others to it. I’d be surprised if it was anyone but Akko, but she probably didn’t even think about it before doing it. After going through that, channeling the power of seven witches through the Claiomh Solais and taking all the feedback onto herself, and then the full power of a witch like Diana—when the Claiomh Solais released, it may have taken too much of her with it. Including her magic.”

“The Balance.” Chariot turned away. “How sure are you?”

"I'd have to see her to know for sure."

ФЖФЖФЖФЖФЖФЖФЖФЖФ


	3. Episode 01: The Legacy of the Claiomh Solais: Part III

What Akko hadn’t considered when she came up with the idea of being towed behind by Lotte and Sucy is how they were going to stop. Or more precisely, how _she_ was going to be able to stop: Lotte and Sucy stopped fine. Inertia carried our plucky would-be flyer past her two friends and threw her from the broom Constanze modified for her. The fact that this was repeated at every terminal they passed through wasn’t lost on her friends, but Akko insisted on continuing to go on without stopping to figure out a better way. What’s an injury or two or three or four or five or six after all?

“Owwwww,” Akko complained loudly with her face planted firmly in the ground. Lotte looked on concernedly while Sucy chuckled. Akko’s broom continued to hover in the air between the two.

Another laugh joined in, “You certainly know how to make an entrance, Miss Kagari!”

Akko looked up in surprise, “Andoru!”

Andrew didn’t even roll his eyes at the way Akko pronounced his name anymore. “When Diana came I figured you wouldn’t be far behind her. To tell the truth, when I recommended to the mayor they contact Luna Nova, I figured you’d be coming along even as they insisted on only asking her. When she came alone, I came here.”

Sucy asked with a raised eyebrow, “You were waiting for Akko? Why are you always wearing a suit? It’s summer.”

“Ahem. Yes, that is part of my duties now.”

“Waiting for Akko or wearing the suit?” Sucy muttered.

“Andoru! You have to explain what’s going on. Diana didn’t tell us anything.” Lotte and Sucy landed to listen to his explanation. Akko hurriedly slammed the button on her broom to fold up the sail and rotors, disconnecting the rope they tied to it as she did.

“Why am I not surprised?” Andrew walked over to the trio to explain.

“Wait! Before you do that: Lotte! Sucy!” Lotte and Sucy waited for her to continue, “Go home.”

“What?” Lotte screeched.

“Are you an idiot?” Sucy asked, “How am I supposed to be entertained at home?”

“I’ve got this, guys. Diana wouldn’t want you two involved.”

“But she’d want you involved?” Sucy deadpanned.

Akko looked uncomfortable and about to argue further before Lotte intervened, “Let’s listen to the situation first Akko. You might need us.”

 _If you stay you might find out I’m magic-less . . . but if Diana needs magic and you don’t stay . . ._ “OK! Andoru! Tell us the situation!”

It’s a testament to how well her friends knew her that no one was phased by the sudden turnaround, “Right, so there are these hounds . . . ”

ФЖФЖФЖФЖФЖФЖФЖФЖФ

“Ah! I’ve never ridden one of these before!” Akko shouted, tightening her grip on Andrew with her left arm and awkwardly holding onto her broom with her right. The bumpy mountain trail did its best to make her lose her grip on either one.

“Surely it can’t be worse than a broom!” Andrew shouted back, gritting his teeth as he focused on the road in front of him.

“A b-buh-buh-broom is a lot less b-b-b-bum-bumpy!” Akko screamed again as they raced around a twist in the road. She closed her eyes and buried her face in Andrew’s back, mindful of the bike helmet she had strapped on. She allowed herself to think and trusted in Andrew to drive her as close to Diana as possible.

The town of Wasdale Head was under attack. A small hamlet west of the highest mountain in England, Scafell Pike, one might not think Wasdale Head would invite magical disaster. However, for the last two weeks, a pack of winged hounds had been terrorizing the inhabitants, forcing them indoors behind strong doors.

Andrew had arrived a week ago and set up a base camp to assess the threat and recommend a solution. He immediately realized he was out of his depth, even with the resources of the newly founded Ministry of Magic Relations backing him up, he recommended bringing in the witches of Luna Nova.

The politics of that still gave him a headache. Who would have thought that a simple request would be such a problem when people were in real danger every night? Eventually, they conceded in submitting a request to the English hero, Diana Cavendish.

When Diana had finally arrived, alone, Andrew was surprised. He figured the only way she would take the job would be getting talked into it by Akko, and the two would figure it out together. Diana coming alone and immediately taking off into the mountains to confront the alpha of the pack was even more unexpected. Andrew was at a loss for why Diana was being so impatient and reckless.

Lotte and Sucy stayed behind to protect the villagers and distract the members of the pack that would attack, while Akko and Andrew raced up the mountain to get as close to the source of the pack as possible. Sucy agreed especially quickly after seeing the size of the turnips in town.

So now Akko had the rest of the ride to figure out exactly what she was going to do when she met up with Diana. _Besides yell at her! And hug her! But especially yell at her for going by herself! And I am going to squeeze her until she passes out! And then I’m going . . . I really need to think about the monster at some point._

The curse from Andrew as he lost his cool was enough to rivet her attention to the present, especially as it was coupled with her stomach flipping as they were thrown from his scooter off a ledge. Gripping Andrew tight she mashed down on the broom’s activation button, praying it would activate in time.

The sudden wrench on both her arms jolted her harshly from her prayers. Andrew grunted as her arm around his stomach knocked the wind out of him and it was all Akko could do to hold onto the larger boy. Akko finally had the presence of mind to be able to open her eyes and look around.

The broom had saved both of them, but couldn’t support their combined weight. They were slowly floating down to the ground below. Too slowly.

“Andoru! Grab onto me!” Akko screamed out, hoping he’d be fast enough before her grip failed. She managed to tighten her legs around him as he squirmed around, but it wasn’t enough as he slid out of her grasp. Akko screamed in fear and this turned to pain as he managed to grab onto her a foot lower and his weight was supported by just her arms again. Akko slid down the front of the broom, barely managing to catch onto the sail part, which had finally unfolded.

With Andrew clutching her around her waist, she reached up and grabbed onto the broom with both hands.

Their descent seemed to slow down even more. Akko couldn’t speak, couldn’t breathe, every fiber of her being was focused on the will to hold onto her broom.

“Akko, we’re getting close, I’m going to let go.” Andrew warned her.

“No!” Akko shouted back, “Just wait. Please.”

Tears fell down her face in pain and Andrew grimaced in shame before letting go.

Of course, Akko hadn’t been asking him to wait out of concern for him. She had faith he knew how far he could fall. With the sudden loss of weight, her shoulders relaxed just enough before her broom jumped up sending new waves of pain through her hands and shoulders and shaking her loose.

Andrew landed on his feet before falling to the side as his ankle gave out. He had just enough presence of mind to try to cushion Akko’s landing, but the combined fall was too much for the two. Blackness rushed up and pulled them under, unconscious.

The well-programmed broom slowly descended after them and remained hovering a few feet above the ground, its sail limply hanging from the broken framework.

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The hounds of Wasdale were the size of large dogs. The biggest of the pack proper might be 100 pounds. If one was to believe the stories, they were the misbegotten offspring of an eagle and hound. A snarling dog lunging at you on the ground is enough to give a fright to all but the most stalwart; a snarling hound diving at over 100 miles per hour with three or four more behind it was another thing entirely.

“Sucy! To your right!” Lotte shouted a warning for her friend, watching her deploy a mushroom shield just in the nick of time to repel a landlocked hound. Lotte waved her wand and sang out clearly to beckon another sprite of the air to keep the skies above their heads free.

Diving hounds were diverted all around them to land heavily upon the ground. “Sprite of fire, please! Lend me your strength!” Lotte begged as she spun on her broom, the sprite igniting the straw and birch twig bristles and acting as a 360 degree flame thrower.

The three hounds around her fell back from the flames, whimpering, but soon regrouped. Sucy shouted with uncharacteristic strength, “I’m running out of poison over here!”

Lobbing another vial at a hound, it batted its wings in midair to dodge the projectile. It broke on the ground leaving a deadly looking puddle but otherwise had no effect. Another hound leapt in the space in front of Sucy and she was forced to fly straight up, where yet another hound was waiting.

“Murowa!” Lotte screamed with rare fury, knocking the hound aside at the last second before it could bite her friend.

“Lotte, we don’t have a choice here.” Sucy flew over to her.

“You’re right, do it Sucy.”

Sucy pulled out a red spotted mushroom and directed magic into it from her wand as she caught Lotte’s hand. Instantly, they were engulfed on all sides by a single massive mushroom head. It slowly settled to the ground like a large beach ball.

A few hounds lunged forward and bit into the mushroom, before giving up in disgust at the flavor.

Inside, Lotte willed a sprite of light to come out for them. Sucy was panting from the effort of her spell. She grinned at her friend, “For as comforting as this spell is, it’s sure hard to pull off.”

“I can’t believe what it’s like out there,” Lotte said, “Do you think the townsfolk got to safety?”

“They’d be idiots if they were taking chances after two weeks of this, so they’re probably all dead.” Lotte winced as she made herself comfortable, and this did not go unnoticed by Sucy. “Where are you hurt?”

Lotte shook her head, “It’s not bad. My boot stopped most of it.” She began pulling her boot off, wincing in pain as she did.

The bite had gone through both her boot and her skin, and she was bleeding. Sucy ripped the bottom of her dress to apply a bandage. “There, that’s the best I can do for now.”

“Thank you, Sucy. How long will this barrier last?”

“Oh? Hmm. A few hours I think.” She yawned in exhaustion.

“Sucy. The hounds are supposed to be nocturnal aren’t they?”

“That makes sense. Why do you ask?”

“Because it’s only 6 o’clock.”

“Well, that’s not good.”

ФЖФЖФЖФЖФЖФЖФЖФЖФ

A normal hound of Wasdale weighed at most around 100 pounds. The alpha was not a _normal_ hound.

Its roar of challenge pierced the night sky, “Even its roar is oversized.” Diana remarked condescendingly, “That would be more appropriate on a dragon than a hound.”

She had flown straight to the peak of Scafell Pike to confront this monster. Once there, she stared up, and up, and up to the glowing red eyes of a monster. Four Dianas standing on each other’s shoulders would only come up to its shoulders, but her gaze was nothing if not imperious.

“I once fought a magic rage missile, you do not impress me.” She brandished her wand and let out a crystal clear, “Murowa!” at full strength.

The hound roared in rage as the magic blast impacted its face. It did not look hurt. “Maybe that was a little impressive,” Diana conceded.

Her wand responded to her need as she rocketed up and away from the alpha. It turned its back on her and leapt from the peak to dive down before circling back in her direction. Its howl filled every atom of air and shook Diana to her core.

Dozens of howls resounded from all around as its pack answered the call.

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Andrew woke first. He rolled over to check on Akko and grimaced at her bloody hands. Not seeing anything else wrong with her, he started to stand up and look around only to fall down as soon as he put weight on his ankle. “That was stupid, I can feel it throbbing.”

Akko came to with a scream, “Diana!”

“Akko, calm down. You’re OK.”

“What about Diana?” Andrew shrugged, “Akko, I know as much as you.”

Akko struggled to get up, whimpering in pain. “Diana. We have to get to Diana.”

Andrew’s eyes narrowed as he observed her, “What’s wrong with you? It doesn’t seem like it’s just your hands.”

She grunted in pain, “My shoulder. I’m sore all over, but my shoulder is killing me.” She gave up on getting up and fell down, only to groan in pain at the impact.

Andrew worked his way over to her on the ground, “Let me see.”

“What? Andoru, we need to get to Diana. We don’t have time for this.”

“Take off your cloak and vest, Akko. You can’t help her like this.”

Akko withered under his glare, and undid the buttons on her cloak one-handed. “I’ll need your help with this,” she said without looking.

Andrew undressed her as gently as he could. In spite of their best efforts, she screamed in pain while they were taking off her vest. Once her vest joined her cloak on the ground, they came to an impasse. Akko began to shiver, prompting Andrew to lay his hand on her forehead. “You’re feverish Akko. You’re probably going into shock.”

“I don’t have time for shock.” She looked down at her clothes, “My shirt is too tight to take off like this, you’re going to have to rip the sleeve.”

“Akko,” Andrew began.

“Just do it. We don’t know how much time we have.”

Andrew took the material of her right sleeve into his hands and gripped it tightly. He ripped it in one tear, but Akko still collapsed in pain from the movement.

“It’s dislocated.”

“I don’t have time . . . ”

“Right right, don’t have time for a dislocated shoulder. I’m here to help Akko, but I’m not a witch.”

“Wizard.”

“Not one of those either.”

“Can you do anything?” Akko looked up into his eyes and Andrew couldn’t think.

When he was still a child he had taken a bad spill from his horse. Terrified his father would punish both him and the horse, he begged the ranch hand to fix his shoulder. The memory of that day never left him. “I think I can, but it’s going to hurt.”

“It hurts already.”

“It’s going to hurt a lot more.”

With clear eyes Akko answered him, “OK, let’s do it.”

Andrew unfastened his belt, folded it in half and held it up for her. She looked at the belt and then him blankly. “Bite down.”

Teeth firmly clenched around the belt, Andrew moved as best he could into position to brace both sides of her body. “3-2-1—”

The belt fell from her mouth as she screamed in pain. Andrew continued to hold her as she cried. She finished rather quickly with an, “Ow ow ow.”

Despite the situation, Andrew chuckled, “Master of understatement, you.”

“OK Andoru. I . . . ”

“Don’t have time for this.”

“Right, let’s go save Diana.”

Andrew frowned at that and gestured to the waiting broom, “You’re on your own from here, Akko. I can’t walk. And from here it would be better if you were flying anyway.”

“Right. Flying. Right.” Akko stood and regarded Andrew and the broom.

“You can’t be serious.”

“What?” Akko asked nervously.

“After all that. After all that! You can’t fly?”

“I’ll figure it out.”

“You’ll figure it out?”

“I can’t explain it, Andoru. There’s something inside me telling me I need to be here for Diana and that I can make a difference. I can make a difference here. I can feel it. Nothing’s going to stop me from that.”

“Then go. Don’t let it stop you.” Akko gingerly reached for her broom. “Wait.”

“What is it? I can feel I’m running out of time.”

“Don’t be an idiot. Here,” He wrapped his belt around her torso in a makeshift sling to take some of the weight of her arm off her shoulder. Then tied a handkerchief around the bloodier of her two hands. He took the remnants of Akko’s sleeve and wrapped it around her other arm where the broom sail had gouged her. “You’re a mess, Akko.”

Akko mounted her broom and regarded Andrew as she started to rise through the air. “You’re a good friend, Andoru.”

ФЖФЖФЖФЖФЖФЖФЖФЖФ

Diana dove straight down through the circle of encroaching hounds and changed direction with an explosion of energy below her and behind her. A few hounds collided in midair at her maneuver but the remainder changed direction and kept after her. She rocketed across the hill staying only a foot above the ground when the impenetrable wall of the alpha reared up in front of her.

Another explosion of magic and she was above and past it.

Taking in its twisted, misshapen body in passing, she realized it had been tortured. Arrows stuck in its body and dozens of wounds stood out to her. Its twisted shape was as much the product of its wounds as it was from magic. The alpha was a completely different beast than the lesser hounds, not just in size, but in form and in madness.

Speaking of the lesser hounds, “Murowa!” she shouted when she couldn’t dodge a lunge from a previously unseen hound.

Her spell hit the hound right before she collided with it and the momentum of both of them sent her tumbling across the ground. Undeterred, she flicked her wrist and willed magic into her call for her stray broom.

Flying near the ground had been the correct choice as both the alpha and its pack were on the ground. The charging beasts were still fast, but nothing like if they had been in the air; her summoned broom was faster.

She let it fly into her hands and grabbed on as it careened into the air above, away from the less agile hounds. “Murowa! Murowa! Murowa! Murowa! Murowa!”

Successive casting drained her quickly—to the point she had to fight off the blackness that wanted her to faint—but knocked out the lesser beasts around the alpha. Terrifyingly, it sat on the ground with narrowed eyes focused on her. “Don’t tell me you’re going to start thinking now.”

Its slavering jaws hung open and she could almost smell the madness roiling off the beast’s flesh. It slammed its head into the ground, growling.

“This is my chance!” Diana closed her eyes momentarily as she prepared to call the magics she wanted into being. For the single instant she had her eyes closed, the hound had its head cocked with one crazed eye staring up at her. In its jaws it held a massive boulder.

Diana bolted to the side as it turned and whipped its head into the air, throwing the boulder at her. Even starting before it threw, the boulder clipped her broom, snapping the end.

“No!” She began to spin out of control.

The massive jump of the alpha took her unawares, but was off-target enough for her to throw herself backwards. Wrenching control of her broom, she rocketed up and away once more.

She spared a glance back at the hound to see it hanging in the air, staring at her. “What! Why!”

Diana didn’t have to wait for an answer to her question. It came down like an avalanche. The boulder the beast had thrown perfectly intercepted her escape route as it fell.

Diana was thrown from her broom.

ФЖФЖФЖФЖФЖФЖФЖФЖФ

It took an uncomfortable amount of time for Akko to crest the cliff she had been thrown over and be taken out of Andrew’s sight. Her last words calling Andrew a good friend hung in the air between them as she slowly rose, but he still managed to cheer her on as she disappeared from view.

Once she cleared the cliff, she kept rising. Without the sail on the front of the broom, the most she could do was change elevation about as fast as she could climb a flight of stairs. The sun hung in the sky behind her, fighting for more time alongside Akko.

_I’m running out of time. I can feel it. Diana needs me. I need to go faster. I need to go higher. I need to FLY._

Akko finally rose high enough to spot the peak of Scafell Pike. She was just in time to see Diana dodge the first pass of the boulder. “DIANA!” she screamed, watching her spiral out of control.

When the monster lunged in front of Diana, Akko felt her heart in her throat and cheered when Diana managed to fly backwards and up.

Unlike Diana, Akko could see the boulder coming down perfectly in her path. Diana, the boulder, and the alpha were perfectly laid out in profile.

Akko scrunched her eyes shut, _Happy thoughts. Happy thoughts. Happy thoughts. Happy thoughts. Happy thoughts._ “TIA FREYRE!”

She continued to hover, slowly rising on the power of the magi-mechanical broom. Diana impacted the boulder, ricocheting away. The alpha slowly began to swoop under to catch her. “No. Not like this. No.”

_Diana. Diana. Diana. Diana. Diana. Diana. “DIANA!”_

In an instant, Akko covered the miles between them and slowed down to catch her gently and safely on her broom. The alpha roared in rage at the sight of another witch.

Akko grinned down at the beast, “Nice catchi times two! And this time with a broken arm!”

For the first time in a month, Akko could feel the power of magic flowing through her veins and she knew what to do. “ _Sybilladura Lelladybura!_ ”

The magic of the Shiny Rod coursed through her and into her broom, changing it into the Shiny Volley in an instant.

The alpha bit down on thin air as the Shiny Volley whisked them away. Taking the time to regard Diana, Akko could tell what was needed next. “ _Lyonne!_ ”

Waves of magic coursed through both her and Diana. She flexed her hand experimentally and shrugged her way out of the makeshift sling Andrew had made for her. Diana came to moments later.

“Ohayou!” Akko greeted her with a smile.

“Akko!”

“Yes, I’m Akko! And I’m here to save you.”

The tackle-hug Diana attempted then would possibly be safe when the two were firmly planted on the ground, possibly. _I thought I had lost you,_ Diana thought without saying aloud. As it was, they ended up spinning in a loop on the Shiny Volley, Akko’s magic keeping them together and seated.

Diana noticed right away, “The Shiny Volley!”

“It’s thrilling and exciting, ne?”

“Akko!”

“Di~a~na!” Akko spared a look behind them at the massive predator chasing after. “Do you mind taking the broom?”

Diana shifted her grip from Akko to the broom, and slid into a riding position. “Akko, what are you going to do?”

Akko jumped up to balance on the bristles and shaft of the broom, facing their pursuit. “There’s only one thing to do at times like this!”

Diana turned her head to watch, a shaft of green light hovered in front of Akko, waiting for her to grab hold.

With a nod, Akko gripped the light and felt it become solid in her hands.

“ _Noctu!_ ” Green light spilled over the mountainside, pouring from the witch’s hands. Banishing back the darkness that followed the setting sun.

“ _Orfei!_ ” The light in her hands began to take shape in the flowing arcs of a bow.

“ _Aude!_ ” The alpha roared in impotent rage, the predator had flown with the sun behind it to blind its prey, but the light pouring from Akko’s magic now overpowered it.

“ _Fraetor!_ ” Solid once more in Akko’s hands, Akko pulled back the string with the ball of light.

“Shiiiiiiny Aaaaaarc!” Light became solid and rocketed to impact the beast in their wake.

“Ha?” Akko looked on in confusion, the alpha kept coming. She fell to a sitting position with her back to Diana.

“It didn’t work!”

“What!” Diana shouted.

“It didn’t work!” Akko gritted her teeth and rose to her feet once more. “I’m going to try again!”

“Akko, don’t!”

“ _Noctu Orfei Aude Fraetor!_ Shiny Arc!” Akko fired another bolt of energy, but did not dismiss the bow as she released. Concentrating, another ball of energy came to her hand, “Shiny Arc! Shiny Arc!”

Two more bolts of energy pierced the beast and it stopped flying to plummet to the earth.

Akko fell back against Diana once more. “Diana,” she struggled to get the words out, “I think I went too far.”

“Akko?” Diana looked back as Akko fell from the broom, unconscious. Instantly, the Shiny Volley dissolved back into Akko’s broken broom. “Akko!”

Diana jumped.

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	4. Episode 01: The Legacy of the Claiomh Solais: Part IV

Diana jumped.

She did it without thought or fear. Akko was falling, and she was going after her.

She did not have a wand. She did not have a plan. Akko was falling, and so was she.

Quickly, Diana caught up to and grabbed her. Clutching Akko’s body, now she began to panic.

“I have possibly made better decisions than this,” Diana said wistfully.

“Diana,” Akko roused herself briefly. “It burns, Diana.”

“Akko!” Akko closed her eyes and faded back to unconsciousness. “No, Akko!”

_I have to save her. I have to!_

Channeling magic without a wand was hard, but Akko had increased magic all over the planet. If it had ever been possible, it would be now!

Diana closed her eyes and tried to feel for the magic all around her. She began to pull deeply only to be shook from her actions by Akko’s scream. “Akko, Akko, what’s wrong?”

The ground was getting ever closer. “It’s now or never!” Beginning her spell again, Akko opened her mouth once more in a scream, this time with no voice and not waking during. That, coupled with their freefall was enough to break the delicate concentration channeling without a wand required. _Akko! I’m sorry I couldn’t save you!_

“Paleis Capama!” The green bubble popped into existence and arrested both witches’ motion fluidly. Chariot breathed a sigh of relief.

“Cutting it a little close, weren’t you?” Croix asked once she was able to breathe again.

“You were as terrified as I was, Croix. You saw what happened.”

“Yes. I saw. It’s worse than we feared.”

ФЖФЖФЖФЖФЖФЖФЖФЖФ

As soon as Diana and Akko reached the ground, Diana moved between Akko and Croix, and stared suspiciously at the latter. Croix raised her hands in surrender, “This one’s got nothing to do with me.”

Chariot tried to calm her, “I brought Croix here when we heard where you girls went.”

“Forgive me if I do not trust your judgement when it comes to this individual, Professor.”

Chariot hung her head in disappointment, “I can understand that, but I brought her to help Akko.”

“Too bad it’s already too late,” Croix said resignedly.

“Croix!” Chariot rebuked her.

“Sorry, my therapist says it’s healthy to be honest with those around me.” Chariot couldn’t tell if Croix was joking or being serious, so she took her at face value.

“Explain yourself immediately,” Diana commanded.

“Diana,” Chariot tried to intervene.

“Professor Chariot, if you do not start speaking or let this individual speak, I am going to lose my temper with you.”

Chariot let Croix speak. “It’s just a theory, but it makes sense. Akko used too much of the Claiomh Solais. When it left, it grabbed onto her magic, rendering her powerless once it completely left her system.”

“She is definitely not powerless now.” Diana said smugly.

“No, this is more concerning.”

“How so?”

Chariot answered, “If she can use the Words, it means that when you girls started the Grand Triskelion, she stayed connected to Yggdrasil. With the void left by her magic, Yggdrasil itself flowed back into her.”

Croix finished, “No one witch is meant to handle that much power. There’s a reason why objects like the Claiomh Solais and the Sorcerer’s Stone exist. Without it, the witch will burn out. She’ll be lucky to die.”

“I believe in Akko!” Diana declared, “I believe in Akko’s believing heart! If anyone can overcome this, she can!”

Croix conceded the point with a nod of her head, “ _If_ anyone could, you’d be right to put your faith in her.”

Chariot handed her a wand and asked, “I need to escort Croix back. We’ll wait for Akko to wake, but need to leave as soon as we can. Will you be able to make it back on your own?”

“The other hounds?”

“They’re back to normal now. They won’t attack unless you attack them.”

“What?”

“Something twisted the leader of the pack, the other members were lashing out to defend her, but they are normally friendly, if skittish creatures.”

“The alpha, it had been shot many times with arrows and, I think, guns.”

Chariot frowned in pain, “Corruption.”

Croix spoke up, “The rise of magic means we can use more powerful magic and in more places than ever before, but it also means slights that would otherwise pass by will become magnified. Magic is neither good nor evil, but can be used for both. Creatures that reach for power for the wrong reasons will become corrupted. The world has become more dangerous.”

Diana kept herself from putting down her former professor, instead she asked, “Could the alpha have been saved? Did we do the wrong thing?”

Chariot shook her head, “Probably not. The corruption had spread too far.”

Akko groaned, bringing all of their attention to her. “Akko will recover for now?”

“Magic overuse. Without the Shiny Rod, the magic she used for every spell came only from her,” Chariot said.

“She had used the Shiny Volley and used Shiny Arc at least four times.”

Chariot and Croix couldn’t believe it. Chariot asked in awe, “How could anyone use that much?”

“There’s something else too. When I was trying to cast as we fell, Akko kept screaming in pain.”

Croix perked up with interest, “Without a wand?” At her nod, she continued, “She’s tapped into the leylines. You were trying to pull directly from the leylines. You’re bright enough to figure out what happened.”

Diana didn’t think she could hate herself more, “I was draining her directly?”

Chariot nodded. “Diana, this is a lot to take in.”

“I assure you that I have understood everything so far.”

Chariot nodded again, “About Akko, what will you tell her?”

Diana stared at her disappointedly, “How did keeping secrets from Akko work out for you last time?”

ФЖФЖФЖФЖФЖФЖФЖФЖФ

“So I have magic again is what you’re telling me.” The two friends were stumbling down the mountain together, their path lit by a magic orb hovering above them

“Akko! Are you listening to what I’ve been saying?”

“Yes, you protected me from the words of our professors.”

“Akko.”

“I’m taking it seriously, Diana. It’s a lot to take in. And I wish they would have stuck around. I haven’t seen Croix-sensei in months.”

“Akko.”

“Have you noticed that you pronounce my name perfectly?” Akko asked her with sudden interest.

“What?!” Diana’s blush rose from her chest to her ears, she could only hope her magic light didn’t give away the color to Akko.

“And you say my name a lot. A lot, a lot. I mean, you say my name better than I say my name. The exact amount of hesitation before the second syllable. ‘A~ko’. Somehow pronounced perfectly, but still in your hot English accent. And you’re not even very good at Japanese!”

Diana stumbled over her words, finally latching onto the one thing she could respond to, “I am proficient in Japanese.”

“Hai, hai.” Akko blushed herself, glad Diana didn’t notice her slip of the tongue saying her accent was hot.

“Ak—So what shall we do about this?”

Akko smiled, “Please don’t stop.”

“A—I cannot. You have made me self-conscious. Do I really say it that often?”

“Only every other sentence or so.” Akko grinned in victory, “But I love it.”

“Akko,” she grinned wider, “Akko, I want to know what you think about everything we have spoken of.”

“About my death sentence?” Akko asked bitterly.

“Akko,” Diana began.

“See, just the sound of my name on your lips is enough to make me smile.”

“Akko,” Diana was crying.

“Diana.” Akko stopped, bringing Diana into a hug, “We’ll figure it out. As long as I have you—as long as I have all of our friends, it’s not over, right? You guys won’t let me go quietly at least. Right?”

“Definitely not. I won’t ever let you go at all. And you will definitely not go _quietly_ yourself.”

“Diana,” Akko laughed through her tears, “We’re having a moment here. Don’t make fun of me.”

“And how about the way you say my name, A~ko?”

“Huh? What’s wrong with the way I say your name?”

“You don’t even try to hide your accent when saying my name, ‘Dai-ah-na’.”

“What? What’s wrong with that? That’s how you’re supposed to say your name!”

“If it was Japanese! In English, it’s pronounced, ‘Di-an-ah’.”

Akko’s blush was only a few inches from Diana’s face and she was able to see it without any trouble under her magical light.

“You’re so mean, Di—ugh, so mean.” Diana hugged her tighter, both were crying once more. “Sure, pick on the dying girl.”

Diana sobbed and laughed, kissing the shorter girl on the forehead. “We are going to figure this out. I will not rest until we do.”

Akko looked up and cupped Diana’s face in her hands, kissing her on one tear-stained cheek, before turning her head and kissing the other. “No. We are going to rest. I want to attend the school that Chariot attended with you. I don’t want to live with this over our heads.”

“Akko. I’m not going to be able to stop myself from figuring this out.”

“It’s OK, Dia~na . . . did I say it right that time?” Akko asked, laughing and crying.

“Not at all!” Diana laughed through her own tears.

Akko nuzzled her head into Diana’s chest, muttering, “So mean.”

It did not take long for Akko’s tears to soak through enough for Diana to be able to feel them against her chest. The two girls continued to hold each other until they could continue on.

ФЖФЖФЖФЖФЖФЖФЖФЖФ

Hours later, the two were walking hand in hand, finally on an actual road. “Diana! Andoru’s scooter!” Akko hurried over to the wrecked scooter in their path.

“What happened to it?” Diana asked aghast.

“I don’t know, I just remember wrecking and getting thrown over this cliff. Oh, looks like it was a flat tire.”

“Akko!” Diana said with sudden intensity.

“Ack! What?”

“Promise me that you’ll never ride one of these again!”

“Diana, how many times have we had broom accidents? We don’t stop riding brooms.”

“Promise me, Akko. Please!” Diana grabbed her by the shoulders and stared into her eyes.

“OK.”

“Really?”

“Yes, I don’t want to worry you, Diana.” Akko turned away uncomfortably, but Diana wasn’t having it. She pulled her close for a hug.

“Um. Hello?” Andrew’s voice called out from the bottom of the cliff.

Diana actually went “eek” and pushed Akko out at arm’s length at his voice.

Akko couldn’t help but laugh, she grabbed Diana’s hand and walked to the edge of the cliff, “Andoru!”

“Akko! You made it back! Were you able to make a difference?” Andrew called up from the darkness.

“Oh, you could say that,” Akko replied coyly.

“Andrew! Can you step into the light?” Diana willed her light to brighten and focused it over the side of the cliff.

“Diana? Is that you?” Andrew came into sight, scooting along the ground.

“Who else would it be?” Diana asked scornfully. Akko began to laugh, “What?”

“When you talk like that it reminds me of how you used to talk to me.”

“What?” Diana became very upset, “Akko, I never thought of you the way I think of Andrew, even from the beginning.”

“Um, I’m right here. I can hear you.”

“It’s fine Diana, I was just nostalgic I guess. It made me laugh to hear you talk down to somebody.”

“I’m literally at the bottom of a cliff listening to this right now.”

“If they’re fond memories, I do not mind.” Diana replied.

“Fond? That’s not quite it. They’ve become fond because they’re memories of you.”

“Oh come on! Are you going to help me?! I’m trapped at the bottom of a cliff in the mountains during a monster attack!”

Diana rolled her eyes up and away, “I suppose I should do something about him.”

Akko nodded, “Hai!”

“Paleis Capama!” Diana encased Andrew in a green bubble, effectively cutting off his complaints. She directed her wand up, and wind rose to meet her command, blowing Andrew back up over the cliff and to them. The bubble popped as suddenly as it had encased him, dropping him to the ground.

“Ow!” Andrew grabbed his ankle in pain. “Thank you very much for the assistance, Diana. Akko.”

“It is the duty of a witch to help those in need. Think nothing of it.”

Akko giggled again, “That’s so Diana.”

Diana directed her light away from her blushing face once more. Andrew asked, “So we can return to the village now? I haven’t heard any sign of the hounds in hours.”

“They have been neutralized for now, but you will have to educate the people of this village to not abuse magical creatures. It would be well if they took it to heart for non-magical creatures also, but the risk is too great if they can access magic.”

Andrew frowned in thought, “Explain to me as we make our way down the path.”

Akko bent over to put his arm over her shoulder, helping him to his feet. Diana stuttered, “W-w-what is this?”

“He sprained his ankle in the fall Diana, if it’s not broken he’ll be lucky. I don’t think I have it in me to cast Lyonne, so we need to help him.”

“I do not like this!”

Andrew asked sincerely, “Do you have a better idea?”

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About an hour later, Akko and Diana crossed the stone bridge to town with Andrew floating in a bubble behind them. Sucy and Lotte were the first to greet them. Diana released the magic on Andrew gently this time, so he merely sprawled on the ground instead of flopping on it.

The witches and Andrew made their way to the Wasdale Head Inn to get as much sleep as they could. In the morning, the witches departed for Luna Nova. Lotte thoughtfully offered her broom to Diana so she could fly with Akko, and Lotte rode double with Sucy.

When they neared Luna Nova, Diana trailed back far enough to speak privately with Akko. “When will you tell them?”

“Soon,” Akko smiled wearily at Diana. “Soon, just not today.” She leaned her entire body into Diana’s back. Diana straightened up rigidly on her borrowed broom. “Hey, what are you trying to do? You know that’s not how you fly a broom.”

Diana slowly relaxed back into a proper flying stance, and Akko settled into her once more. “Akko.”

“Diana.” Akko mimicked.

“Thank you for coming after me.”

Akko smiled with her eyes closed. “I’ll always come after you.”

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	5. Episode 02: Luna Nova Over Capacity

“Wow! Can you do some magic for us?” The gaggle of girls surrounding the former outcast of Luna Nova were excited to say the least.

“We came here because you go here! Please show us some of your magic, please Miss Kagari.”

“Whaaaat?” Akko was stymied, “Not because Shiny Chariot went here? She’s amazing!”

“You like Shiny Chariot?” Akko’s glare was enough to make the poor girl take a step back, “I-I-I mean, she’s great, but _you_ ’re the reason we all came here.”

“Alright girls! Prepare to be amazed with my thrilling and exciting show!” Akko twirled her wand like a baton and stepped back from the group of nameless freshmen. “Dokidoki no wakuwaku!”

A chorus of encouragement and murmurings of pleasure greeted the announcement. Akko grinned conspiratorially before shouting, “Arae—”

“AKKO!” The sharp note of displeasure cut through Akko’s spell as surely as a magic isolator would. The blonde goddess of Luna Nova stormed down the stairs towards the group. The freshmen scattered before her.

“Aw, Diana, I was just going to show them some transformation magi . . . ” The slap echoed down the hall, making the freshmen girls hurry away even faster. Despite herself, tears sprang to Akko’s eyes.

“You irresponsible, unthinking jerk of a witch!” With each word, Diana’s balled up hands lightly pounded against Akko’s chest.

Dazed from the slap, Akko kept her face turned away. Diana’s buffets were more out of frustration than from a desire to hurt her, as though shouting, _Notice me! Make this better!_ _Fix it!_

Akko slowly reacted by wrapping her arms around her. Diana struggled for a few seconds more before giving into the hug, sobbing into Akko’s arms. “Hey, hush. It’s OK. I’m not going anywhere. I’m fine now.”

“Akko!” Diana screamed in frustration, biting back sobs and shoving her face deeper into the nook of Akko’s neck. “We don’t know that. We don’t know anything right now.”

“I wanted to make those girls smile and show them how amazing magic is.”

“You’ve already done that! You showed the whole world that! You don’t need to do anymore.”

Akko blinked in surprise, “Oh. I guess I did show the whole world.” She laughed and tried to stand up and away from the hug. Diana only grabbed her tighter, her sobs were becoming uncontrollable. “I still don’t get why you’re mad . . . Or why you hit me.”

Diana could not respond.

“Akko, Diana,” the voice of their once-idol interrupted them. Chariot put on a friendly smile at Akko when she looked up at her. Diana stayed firmly attached. “I’m sorry to interrupt, but I think I can help.”

“Hai,” Akko replied, gesturing impotently at the wreck in her arms.

“Akko, Diana is upset because we think you using magic is going to accelerate your condition.” Akko numbly felt Diana nodding furiously.

“Ee?” Akko asked surprised. “Using magic is making me worse?”

“Yes, didn’t Diana explain this to you?”

More nods in her shoulder, “I must not have caught that part. You know how I am,” this time Diana shook her head side-to-side vigorously. “So you hit me . . . because I was hurting myself?”

More nods, “A—Akko,” Diana managed to get out.

“I’m sorry, Diana. I didn’t know.” The normally cheerful girl was reeling from the revelations.

“I should have explained it better, Akko. I’m so sorry.”

Akko tried to laugh it away, “So that’s what it’s like to be slapped by an aristocrat, ne?”

“I thought you were killing yourself! Just to show off for some girls!” The strength of her rebuke stunned her. Akko lost any semblance of being able to manage. Tears fell down her face to wet Diana’s hair. Chariot hovered over the two, wanting to console them, but unable to.

Footsteps on the staircase drew Chariot’s attention, and she turned to see Amanda sauntering down the stairs. “Yo, Akko!” she called out before fully taking in the scenario. Neither Akko nor Diana heard her.

Chariot stepped up to meet Amanda halfway, “Please take another route, Miss O’Neil.”

Amanda looked at Diana and Akko, then blankly up at Chariot. “I thought we were closer than that, Professor du Nord.”

The red-head frowned and whispered, “Amanda, this is a tense situation. I’m sorry to greet you that way, but please understand.”

“Seems like they need their friends,” Amanda raised her arms behind her head as she began to climb the steps.

“I’m sure that will come soon enough.”

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The crimson-haired idol somehow managed to get each girl back to her quarters and sitting down with a cup of tea. They instinctively arranged themselves so that Diana was on the left holding her tea with her left hand, while Akko was on the right holding her tea in her right hand. The girls held hands as though it was the most natural thing in the world, but the atmosphere was tense and somber.

Not for the first time, Chariot sighed. She had already sent Alcor with a message that both girls would be missing their first day of classes. She did not worry as much about Diana, but Akko was about to have even more on her plate that would make classes much more difficult than before. Both witches were somewhat glassy-eyed, but at least they had stopped crying.

“I’m sorry, Ursula-sensei,” Akko began.

Chariot almost squawked in surprise, “What? You have nothing to be sorry for, Akko!”

“I know how important it is to you to be able to make people smile, I mean. It must be extra difficult to you to have to deal with us right now.”

The older witch frowned in sympathy and understanding, “It’s extra difficult for me right now because it’s you two, not because of anything else. You two both are so important to me and I-I feel. . . ”

“We stopped blaming you a long time ago,” Diana cut her off, correctly intuiting Chariot was about to blame herself for her Dream Fuel Spirit magic. “If you want to take responsibility for this, then take credit for leading us to restoring magic to the entire world.”

Chariot harrumphed. “I believe we are here for you two, not to try to console me.”

That brought a small smile out of both girls, and that smile reflected onto Chariot’s face as well. “See, you can still make us smile,” Akko told her mentor.

“But you are mistaken. This concerns all of us, and all of our friends too,” Diana ventured.

Their teacher nodded. “The rest of the girls still don’t know?”

Akko said, “I want to tell them. I do, but I don’t want them to be hurt. I don’t mean hurt by worrying about me, but I don’t want anyone to feel responsible.”

“We care about you Akko, even Croix does in her own way.”

“But you somehow found out that I channeled the magic through me during the missile crisis, couldn’t we tell them about what’s going on with me without telling them it was because I did that?”

Both Chariot and Diana gasped in shock, “You knew what you were doing back then?” Diana asked hurriedly.

Akko shrugged uncomfortably, “I knew what it was like to use the Shiny Rod with someone else, yes.”

“Shiny Volley,” Diana said in understanding, thinking back to one of the pivotal moments in their relationship, when she had taught Akko “Sybilladura Lelladybura”.

“It doesn’t hurt!” Akko hurried to reassure them, “It’s just. Using the Shiny Rod is already so intense, it’s just a lot more intense. It’s like,” she struggled to make them understand, “Using the Shiny Rod is when you think the gir-the person you like is going to hold your hand, and using it with someone else is when they actually _do_ hold your hand.”

All three witches pointedly ignored looking at the space between Diana and Akko, where they still sat holding hands. Chariot did her best impression of her hair, while Diana started to instinctively draw away. Akko grabbed hold of her hand even tighter. She stared into Diana’s eyes and shook her head to tell her not to let go. Diana’s blush rose from her chest up to her ears. Akko, for her part, sat there oblivious.

Akko curiously looked back and forth between the two of them waiting for someone to speak. “Why are you two both so red?”

“Ahem!” Chariot plunged ahead, “I have used the Shiny Rod as well, Akko. Could you explain a little more about what it is like to be with another? I mean use the Shiny Rod with someone else!”

Akko stared a little amazed at her mentor, “I’m not sure why you’re shouting, but it’s pretty omoshiroi that _my_ sensei wants _me_ to explain something.” She set her tea cup down and laughed behind her hand in what she thought was an arrogant manner.

Diana squeezed her other hand, “Now’s not the time to joke, Akko. I also am interested in what-in what _that_ feels like to you.”

Akko relaxed slightly, letting her hand drop to her teacup and taking another sip before she tried to explain further. “It’s like, your heart is going to beat out of your chest and all of the blood rushes to your head. You have butterflies exploding in your stomach like fireworks.”

The two listening smiled softly at her description, but Akko continued. “You start getting these pinpricks of pain running along all of the veins in your body and it feels like your heart is throwing up and all of your blood is running backwards. You have to fight back to make sure you’re not throwing up or crying because the pounding in your head is so loud you’ve lost track of your senses. It hurts and . . . ”

At their horrified gazes Akko realized what she was saying, “I said too much.”

“Back on that day, you didn’t even hesitate,” Diana said softly.

Chariot continued, “You were so happy and excited. There wasn’t a hint of any of this.”

Now it was Akko’s turn to blush, “I’m not explaining it well. It’s not bad, just overwhelming. There’s this sense of connection that comes with it, I’ve never felt closer to everyone. It was amazing.” Akko had stars in her eyes. “If it wasn’t so overwhelming it’d be crazy amazing.”

Akko glanced sidelong at Diana, trying to convey how important that connection had been to her. Chariot decided to get the conversation back on track, “So you don’t want everyone to know your current condition may be because they used the Shiny Rod alongside you that day.”

“Hai!” Akko jumped at the chance to change the subject, “I mean, we don’t know for sure, right? And it was my decision, not theirs. I did it without telling anyone.”

Without using magic, Diana had somehow teleported much closer to Akko in the last few minutes. Their hands now lay in Diana’s lap, and Diana let her tea go cold so that she could hold onto Akko with both hands. “Akko, we need to at least tell them about your condition soon. I cannot . . .” She paused to gather herself, “I know I am good at maintaining a stoic front and not letting others in, but that has changed with you. I cannot pretend—I cannot fake to be fine when every second of the day my heart is in turmoil over your condition.”

Akko frowned, “Diana, I don’t want you to go through that.”

Chariot interjected again, “You will at least have to tell them something related to this,” she pulled a letter from her robes and laid it between the girls. “This is effective immediately.”

Diana had finished reading the letter in an instant and she nodded in understanding. Catching Chariot’s eye, they shared a look of resolute sympathy. Akko’s outburst followed immediately after, “What?!” she jumped up, still holding onto Diana, “What is this!”

“Akko, as we said before, any further magic use may accelerate your condition.”

“But this isn’t just about showing off, this is _forbidding_ me from using magic!”

“Is this not a good thing, Akko?” Diana asked, “Now you do not have to worry about being forced to do magic in class and risk worsening your condition.”

“My condition. My condition? My condition! How am I supposed to attend magic school without being able to do magic?”

Chariot frowned; Akko was taking this much harder than she had anticipated. After the previous emotional display, she thought Akko would understand the need for the order. “Akko. I thought you understood.”

Akko sat down in a huff. “There’s no end date.”

“What?”

“There’s no point where it says I can do magic again. It’s just a blind command saying that I’m not permitted to do magic _ever again_.”

Diana and Chariot both turned their attention back to the paper. “Akko,” Diana started tentatively.

“Yeah, I get it.” Akko answered her. _Not like I follow the rules anyway._

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Akko was on the prowl. After she had extricated herself from Ursula-sensei and Diana with the claim that she needed to clear her head, she stomped through Luna Nova. Eager freshmen girls took one look and went the other way from the storming brunette. Without realizing it, she found herself outside near the broom courses.

She stopped and watched the crowd of girls that were watching people fly around. For the first time since she left Ursula-sensei’s room did she allow herself a semblance of calm. _I know they’re right, so why am I fighting this so much?_

 _BECAUSE IT’S JUST NOT FAIR!_ “ARRRRRGH!” Akko screamed and pulled at her hair in frustration.

“Uh oh, Akko has become a pirate.” Sucy’s dry delivery of every sentence hit her with a wave of nostalgia and comfort.

“Hi Akko. Are you feeling OK?” Lotte asked tentatively, “Amanda was saying some things . . . ”

“How long have you been knocking at the Cavendish gate?” Sucy asked directly.

“Ee? What? What are you talking about!”

“It’s OK if you don’t want to tell us . . . ” Lotte trailed off. It was OK, but she’d be hurt if Akko didn’t want to confide in them.

“Oh! Oh, did Amanda see us with Ursula-sensei?” Akko asked suddenly.

“You guys were into three-player?” Sucy asked in surprise.

“No, listen to this!” _At least this order can do some good by explaining this,_ “I’ve been forbidden from doing magic!”

“What? That’s terrible!” Lotte agreed.

“Well, it’s not like you did much magic anyway . . . at least not successfully.”

“Hey! I’ve gotten a lot better after everything last year! And I finally mastered flying!”

“Mastered?” Sucy asked.

“Really?” Lotte seconded.

Sucy adopted a leering smile, “Did you figure out a happy thought?”

“Yes!” Akko shouted back gleefully, ignoring Sucy’s innuendo. “Well, I don’t know if it was a happy thought, but it’s like back with the Shiny Rod where my emotions have to be in tune with my magic. But I think I’ve gotten the hang of it.”

“That’s great news,” her bespectacled friend congratulated her.

“It is. Well, it _was_.”

“At least this way you won’t get in as much trouble.”

“Sucy,” Lotte reproached.

“What?”

“When you’re right, you’re right.”

“Cooome onnn. Guyssss,” Akko whined.

“Are you here to watch the show?” Lotte hurried to change the subject.

“What show is that?”

“Amanda, Jasminka, and Constanze are putting on a flying show for a bunch of freshmen.”

“Wow, really?” Akko asked, completely distracted by the news. “What’s with all these freshmen anyway? Doesn’t it seem like there’s an awful lot of them?”

“Heh heh heh, how oblivious are you, Akko?” Sucy asked.

Lotte explained, “You didn’t notice them at the Matriculation Ceremony yesterday? There are half again as many of them as there are of our class.”

“What? Why so many? Was there a baby boom or something?”

Sucy grinned at Akko’s questions, but Lotte answered, “Luna Nova got a lot more popular after everything we did. That, plus the entire world becoming interested in magic . . . I heard they even hired some new teachers to handle all the new students.”

“Don’t worry, Akko. No one could replace you as my guinea pig.”

“Hey! Don’t you mean friend?”

“Anyway, instead of the flying competition, try one of my potions. You promised.”

“Whaaaa? You already dosed me with one last night! Remember? I woke up with a mushroom instead of hair!”

“That was me using you as a guinea pig without your consent. You didn’t choose to do it. You still owe me one willingly.” Sucy explained.

“What? Oh, I guess you’re right. I promise I will tomorrow! For now, let’s go watch the show!”

Akko rushed ahead of her team, pushing aside the many girls forming the crowd in order to get to the front. Lotte struggled to meet up with her, working her way here and there to get to where she stood. Sucy took out a mushroom and caused it to inflate to gigantic size and push over three girls that were in her way at once. After that, the crowd parted to let her through. “I love this thing.”

Amanda’s broom stood almost straight up as she stood on the back and spun around as though her broom was a dance partner. Jasminka flew in lazy S-shapes as she contentedly snacked on donuts side-saddle. Ever since the broom relay, she associated donuts with flying and never flew without them.

Constanze used an army of Stanbots to launch an array of mecha-magical brooms through the air. The smoke from their takeoff made the crowd cough in irritation, but it seemed impressive enough.

“Um. So. This is a thing.” Akko said after a few minutes of watching the chaotic flights of their friends.

“This is a very strange thing,” Sucy agreed.

“This is probably the first time they did something like this together.”

“You’re right, Lotte! I’m sure Shiny Chariot spent hours working on her choreography and she was just one witch! Imagine three witches at once trying to do a Shiny Chariot show. That’s right, you can’t!”

Sucy gestured towards the sky, “Don’t you mean this is what you’d imagine?”

“Nope,” Akko smiled. She loved her friends, but this was ridiculous. Now, Stanbots were working together to launch heavy machinery through the air at Jasminka, who caught the objects before easily throwing them up into the air for Amanda to dance around.

Lotte tried to be nice one final time, “It’s all very impressive though.”

The two other girls murmured something that sounded like they were agreeing.

“Hmm. Do you think they’ll notice if we leave?” Akko asked, while looking back towards the building.

“Akko!” Amanda’s shout of recognition came just in time to answer Akko’s question. Akko turned back to see Amanda fail to dodge the next piece of machinery—some sort of couch-sized crane—and fall from her broom.

Unbidden, words of power shouted in Akko’s mind as she watched her friend fall. The thought of Diana rushed through her head and heart to enable her to access her magic, but as soon as she pictured the beautiful witch, she hesitated.

Looking to see if anyone had a broom handy, she quickly saw that only Jasminka was in position to catch her and she had not even noticed Amanda was falling.

“Dammit!” Grabbing Sucy momentarily, she ran ahead. Sucy stumbled and fell against Lotte, who held her up. Akko jumped up on a Stanbot and started fiddling with its controls rapidly, only to cling on as its head popped off with a massive spring.

Akko was flung across the lawn and came to rest underneath the falling Amanda. Gripping Sucy’s mushroom, she squeezed it to make it inflate to an incredible size.

Amanda fell into the mushroom with an “oomph”, but rolled safely off moments later. “Akko! You saved me!”

She hugged Akko tightly, never gladder to see her. “Amanda. I’m so so sorry.”

Bursting into tears, Akko disentangled herself from Amanda and ran away.

Confused, shaken, and hurt, Amanda stared after her forlornly. She frowned even more when she saw Diana stalking up to her through the crowd. “Oh great. Here it comes.”

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Akko ran through Luna Nova back to the red team’s room. She didn’t stop until she felt the safety of their wood door at her back. Hyperventilating, she let the panic attack wash over her. _What is wrong with me? How could I hesitate like that? I should have immediately used my magic! What if something had gone wrong?_

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“Ow. Ow. Ow! Diana, just stop for a minute.” Amanda forcibly removed Diana’s iron grip from her wrist. “You can berate me here. There’s no one around.”

Diana looked back at her in surprise, then looked around. “I’m not going to berate you.”

“You should. I was breaking school rules and I endangered myself. If Akko hadn’t been there . . . ”

“I am as happy as anyone that Akko was there to save you. And I am even more happy in the way that she saved you.”

“Then what are you—”

“Make sure she doesn’t need to save you again.”

“What?”

“Akko. She has been forbidden from using magic. I will not share with you any more than that, but please, if you care about Akko at all, make sure you do not put her in a situation where she needs to use magic.”

“That doesn’t make any sense.”

“It does not need to make any sense, Amanda. I know you care about Akko. If you care about her the way you think you do, then do this for her.”

“You literally dragged me in here to say not to be a bother to Akko? Of course _I_ would know not to be a bother to Akko!”

“I know we are not close . . .”

“Whose fault is that, princess?” Amanda snapped back.

“I would suppose it is both of ours. You have never liked me, and I know I am not the most approachable. It must seem such a bother to you that I try to uphold the rules of Luna Nova. I am working on becoming friendlier. Akko—and Hannah and Barbara—have been helping me. Now that we have restored magic to the world and Luna Nova is stronger than it has been in centuries, I feel like I can try to relax. I would like to be more approachable to you and the others. I would like to try to become friends.”

Amanda shook her head in disbelief, but remained silent. Diana frowned in pain, “I am sorry that you feel that way. I assure you I am sincere. I would like to start anew with you. For Akko, and for myself.”

“That’s not why I was shaking my head, princess. I was shaking my head because you said I never liked you.”

“What?” Diana asked incredulously.

“I like you.”

“So we can be friends?” Diana said hopefully, but with some confusion.

Amanda pressed up close to her until Diana backed against a wall, she slapped her hand against the wall next to Diana’s head. “I don’t think we can.”

“Amanda, what . . . ”

Amanda leaned in, kissing her cheek. “I like you, Diana. I always have. I like both you _and_ Akko.”

Amanda turned and strolled away without waiting for a response. Internally, she was a morass of emotions and recriminations, but the back that she presented to Diana at least seemed confident and sure. _I can’t believe I did that!_

Diana stared after her, somewhat dazed from the encounter. Her hand lifted to cup her cheek where Amanda had kissed her. _This was an unexpected development . . . but, but at least I know I can trust her to help Akko._

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Lotte and Sucy joined Jasminka and Constanze (and her army of Stanbots) in cleaning up. “You’d think Luna Nova would have some sort of safeguards for broom accidents,” Lotte wondered.

Sucy turned to regard her, “I don’t think there were as many broom accidents before Akko joined.”

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	6. Episode 02: Luna Nova Over Capacity: Part II

It began, as one might expect after a witch like Akko joined Luna Nova, with a broom accident.

“Tia Freyre!” the shout had just the right inflection and the witch in question had put just the right amount of magical power into her incantation. Barbara had been casting this spell practically since she could walk after all and had never messed it up (so long as you didn’t count the time when she was 11 and trying to rescue a kitten from a tree; her parents hadn’t been overly amused when she ended up needing rescued too).

Magic ballooned up from the leyline through the Sorcerer’s Stone and into the unsuspecting teenager. Her broom rocketed up a dozen feet in an instant, catapulting the blunette off her broom and across the lawn. Her scream of terror had barely started before Diana was in the air after her. Unfortunately, the same thing happened again and the school prodigy herself was fighting to control her broom, barely managing to cling to it as it hovered thirty feet in the air.

Shortly after they deployed a life net to catch the thrown witch was about when everyone noticed the Stanbot army standing on the sidelines. The Stanbots slowly lowered the stretched canvas down to the ground and two more helped Barbara stand and escape. Once Barbara was clear, the bots turned to Constanze and flashed a thumbs up, which Constanze immediately turned to Amanda and flashed her own.

Amanda scratched her head and pointedly avoided looking at Akko.

Akko, astride her own broom and moments too late to fall into the same trap as Diana, breathed a sigh of relief, even as she eyed the stranded blonde witch above. Diana seemed to be ignoring her own predicament and glaring at Akko astride her broom. Akko slowly took her broom out from between her legs. Diana sighed in relief, even as she hung upside down.

More bots came marching out and spread another life net, and Diana cancelled the spell on her broom, throwing it aside as she fell.

Akko felt her heart lurch in her throat watching her take the plunge, but managed to breathe once she stood up, none the worse for wear.

Professor Nelson came rushing up, “Flying class is suspended until further notice! Class dismissed!” She gathered up Diana and Barbara in her wake and rushed inside.

“What’s going on?” Lotte asked.

“Something that’s going to have Akko begging to put off testing my potion again I’m guessing,” Sucy dryly replied.

Akko was away from her two roommates and had her arm around Hannah, consoling her. “Now, now, Hannah, what is it Diana says? Witches are meant to be feared, not afraid?”

“But I’ve never seen anything like that!”

“Haha, really? I mean, that’s about how flying magic usually seems to me . . . ”

Hannah looked at Akko critically, “I think we can agree you do magic anyway _but_ the usual way.”

“Hey, you’re making me all nostalgic being critical like that.” Hannah widened her eyes and managed to laugh. “There we go, that’s better. We both saw them. They’re both fine after all. It’s OK to laugh.”

“Will you come to the infirmary with me to check on them?”

“I think I’ll leave it to you. Don’t want to intrude on the blue team when something like that happened.”

“You know they’ll be happy to see you, especially after that.”

“I’ve got something else to do, I’m sorry. I really need to take the opportunity from this missed class to get it done,” Akko begged off.

“Alright Akko, but come to our room when you get the chance.”

“Definitely!” Akko promised, fully intending to come . . . once she was sure Diana wasn’t there.

Akko made her way back to her teammates. “Akko, are you going to the infirmary?” Lotte asked.

“Hmm? Um, no.”

“Akko missing the chance to see Diana helpless in bed? Are you feeling feverish? That could affect my poison’s—err, potion’s—effects.”

“Right! Your potion! That’s why I can’t go. How about you go and check on them, Lotte?” Sucy brightened up in a rare display of motivation.

Lotte glanced over at the retreating back of Hannah, “I’m not sure . . . ”

“Don’t you think Barbara would want to be with friends? Who better than her fellow Nightfall comrade? You could read her the latest volume in bed or something.”

“I’m sure they’re not going to be there much longer than a checkup,” she said even as she began moving after Hannah. “I’ll catch up with you guys later.”

Akko watched Lotte trot after and catch up to Hannah. Hannah looked at Lotte skeptically for a moment before smiling and nodding, happy for the company.

Sucy monitored Akko watching, “I’m not complaining, but are you sure you don’t want to go with them? Diana is probably pretty shook up, it’s not often she flubs a spell, and especially not when someone else is on the line.”

Akko shook her head without turning to Sucy, “No, let’s go back and get this experiment over with.”

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“So, just to get this perfectly clear, you are imbibing this vial of mysterious liquid through no coercion and entirely of your own free will?”

“What’s with the legal disclaimer, Sucy? Usually you just pop a funnel in my mouth while I’m sleeping and dump it down.”

“This poi-tion is special. It won’t take full effect unless the drinker is willing.”

“What exactly does this one do?”

“That’s not very Akko of you, Akko.”

“You’re right. I don’t care.” _Anything to get my mind off of everything._ Akko grabbed the bottle and drank the entire thing in one go.

Sucy looked about as alarmed as anyone had ever seen her, “You just took a triple dose!”

“WHAT?!” Akko screeched, and did a strange contortion followed by flipping over backwards to land on her face. Sucy stared after alarmed, not sure what to do, but settling for a wait-and-see approach. After a long minute, Akko slowly got up and spoke meekly, “I’m sorry Manbavaran-san. I thought you wanted me to drink the entire thing, kedo.”

Sucy blinked, “This is very interesting.” She took out a journal and started jotting down notes. “What are you thinking about right now?”

“I-I was thinking about Diana-sama.”

“Diana . . . sama?” Sucy asked dryly, “Sama means you like her a lot?”

Akko blushed from her toes to her ponytail, “Chigau!” She shook her head emphatically, but seemed unable to vocalize more than that.

“Akko, I don’t speak Japanese.”

“Sumimasen. It’s different.”

“Japanese is very different.”

“How I feel about Diana-sama I mean. She’s a great witch and I respect her a lot.”

Sucy jotted more down. “What are you feeling right now?”

“I’m like, really nervous and want to run away.”

“Why aren’t you running away?”

“We’re already where I would have ran away to.”

“Hmm. Seems to be a latent truth-speaking effect as well.” Sucy murmured to herself. “Akko, do you like anyone?”

Akko fidgeted, scuffing her shoes on the ground, “I like everyone. I want to be friends with everyone. I want to make everyone smile.”

“Akko. Don’t get around the poison’s effect by deliberately misunderstanding. Do you like-like anyone? Do you love anyone?”

Akko ducked her head down violently and Sucy looked on amused as every observable inch of skin turned beet red. Akko stayed silent.

“Hmm, so it doesn’t compel you to answer at least. Akko, would you run an errand for me?”

“Hai! Manbavaran-san! I’d very much like to become good friends with you.” Not to mention Akko was extremely enthusiastic for a change of subject.

“You don’t think we’re already good friends, Akko?” Akko stretched nervously at the implication.

“I don’t want to assume anything. Why would a great witch like you want to be friends with a magic-less, bumbling, rude girl like me?”

Sucy frowned, scribbled something down on a piece of paper, folded it, and handed it to Akko. “Akko, we are already great friends. Please deliver this to Diana for me.”

“Di-Diana-sama?!” Akko screeched again.

Sucy smiled somewhat maliciously, “Is there a problem?”

“Ie. No, no problem at all. Right away, Manbavaran-san!” Akko hurried to the door.

“Akko, no matter what, you can call me Sucy.”

“Hai, Sucy-chan,” Akko fled the room.

“Well, I suppose my personality inversion poison is a success, but I did not anticipate feeling bad about it. I’ll have to conduct further experiments to see if there is something wrong with me. I wonder if she would have behaved the way I expected if she had taken the normal dose.” Sucy went to sit cross-legged in her bed, thinking about her selection and quantities of ingredients in her latest poison. “Ah well, it’s Diana’s problem now.”

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Akko skirted around the perimeter of the halls, carefully peeking around corners before rounding them herself. Whenever the hallways seemed to have a few too many people, she took another route. The normal 15 minute trip to the blue team’s suite had already taken over an hour. “Dammit! More freshmen punks? What the hell! Go home!” Akko swore as she looked back the way she came, only to catch the eye of her idol. Her visage of rage instantly vanished to be replaced with a rapt smile.

“Akko! There you are,” Chariot came rushing up to her. “I’ve been looking all over for you. I stopped by your room and Sucy said you had gone to Diana’s.”

“Hai, Chariot-sama! I am on my way to Diana’s now,” Akko looked up at the red-haired bishoujo adoringly.

Chariot adopted one of her classic looks of exasperation as her glasses fell crookedly down her face, “Chariot? Sama?! What happened to Ursula-sensei?”

“I could never call you by anything other than Chariot-sama, Chariot-sama! You gave me my dream of magic. You’re why I am here today,” Akko gushed. “You’re so much prettier than you are on my posters.”

“Ah?” Chariot’s brain short-circuited being confronted with the strange behavior of her student.

“Chariot-sama,” Akko began hesitatingly, “Would it be alright if I hugged you?”

Chariot came back to Earth when Akko did not wait before flinging herself across the distance between them to glomp onto her, “Akko! What are you doing?”

Akko nuzzled her head into her idol, “I’ve always wanted to hug you! Ahh, you smell so good.”

Unsure of where to put her arms and hands, Chariot stood stock still, “Akko, what is going on?”

“You’ve always been there for me. My entire life, first the thought of you, then seeing your show and the dream you gave me, then looking out for me under your disguise. I don’t know how I could ever pay you back or do enough for you,” Akko squeezed her tighter.

The red-haired professor sighed and allowed herself to return the hug, patting Akko on the back, “Akko, I hurt you so badly . . . ”

Akko shook her head, “Nope! Everything worked out! And I get to go to school with my idol!”

Akko looked up at her frowning teacher, “I’m so glad you keep your hair red now! You’re so beautiful!”

Wide eyes and a blush at that remark, “Akko, I know you’ve been going through some really heavy things, but I am your teacher. Even if I was once Shiny Chariot . . . ”

“In my heart, you’ll always be Shiny Chariot!” Akko enthused.

“Akko, what would Diana think?”

“Diana-chan! She loves you too!” Akko said confidently, she turned away from her teacher, speaking a mile a minute, “She’s so flipping cute too. I mean, you’re gorgeous, but more of a mature sexy gorgeous, although you were super cute with short hair when you were touring. Diana-chan’s hair, those waves, those eyes! If I had my way, I’d hug and kiss you both every single minute. Diana would probably faint if she ever got to kiss you! You know she’s almost as big of a fan as I am . . . ”

“Akko! That is completely inappropriate,” Chariot rebuked her as sternly as she could manage.

“Is it? I’m sorry Chariot-sama, I didn’t mean to be inappropriate,” Akko turned back to her teacher with a pout.

“Ahem, it’s OK Akko, but even though we have a close relationship, I am still your teacher and mentor.”

“You are!” Akko drew close again, “Chariot-sama, would you teach me something?”

“Yes of course, Akko, as long as it’s not magic . . . ” Chariot was happy for the change in topic.

“Can you teach me how to kiss?” Akko asked with a smile.

“K-k-k-KISS?!?!” Chariot stammered out.

“Hai! I think it’s important to be good at that. Plus, I love you. Can I kiss you?”

“What? N-no! Croix—” whatever Chariot had been about to say was cut off as Akko leapt and threw her arms around her neck, pulling her down and kissing her on the lips. “Mm—mmph!”

Chariot fell backwards, her hat tumbled away, and Akko went down with her. Akko kissed her once more for good measure before getting up and skipping away, “My first kiss was with Shiny Chariot!”

The fallen teacher sat dazed, staring after her student. The reason why she had sought her out in the first place completely slipping her mind.

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“Professor Finneran! May I help you carry those books?”

Finneran responded without looking, “That is quite nice of you to offer, Dian—Akko?!”

“Yes ma’am! I am happy to help,” Akko responded with a smile. She grabbed a tower of books about as high as herself off the desk and waited patiently for the older professor.

Finneran somehow managed to avoid having a heart attack, “There’s no extra credit in this for you, Miss Kagari.”

“Why would I get extra credit for helping? Just show me where you need to go and I will do my best to assist you!”

“Sure, sure, follow me,” Finneran muttered. She thought, _Well, I was against Akko spending so much time with Diana, but if it results in these sort of things, maybe it’s not all bad._

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“You’re going down!” Akko challenged her opponent with her finger pointed in her face, “No one can eat as much as me once I get going!”

“Oh?” Jasminka asked with a smile, “This sounds fun, Akko.”

Shortly later, Akko lay groaning on the floor as Jasminka continued to eat pie, “Uuuggh, you. You beast. You haven’t even seen my true power yet,”

Jasminka continued to eat as she looked down at her friend, “Keep training, Akko!”

The overworked kitchen staff surveyed the destruction later, sure even a Croix-ICBM wouldn’t be as messy as the empty pie pans left over from the dueling witches.

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Clutching her stomach, Akko blindly turned the corner, not bothering to check where she was going. She walked straight into the back of a certain tall, fiery-haired witch. “Yo! Akko!”

Amanda was both happy and apprehensive to see her. “Amanda O’Neill, please do watch where you are going.”

“Haha, Akko, you’re the one that ran into me.”

Akko continued to walk, her stomachache forgotten, she held her head high so as to not show she was flustered, “That may be so, but you are more than capable to keep an eye out for others.”

Amanda turned around and fell into step beside her. Akko ignored her for a few minutes, “May I ask why you are walking with me?”

“What’s up with you? You sound like Diana.”

“Cavendish-san is a great witch. I am on my way to deliver a message to her now.”

Amanda stopped and looked at her curiously, “What’s the message?”

Akko produced the folded letter and held it out to her; Amanda unfolded it. Akko shouted, “That is a private message!”

“Then why did you hand it to me?” Amanda read the note to herself.

_Diana,_

_I poisoned Akko and she’s acting strange. Please fix her._

_—S_

Akko held her hand out when she saw that her friend had finished. Amanda folded the letter again and handed it back. “Are you quite satisfied?”

Amanda looked at her peevishly, “Hey, Akko. Let’s hang out.”

“Very well, what would you like to do?”

 _Wow, that was easier than I thought._ “Let’s go watch a movie with Constanze.”

Akko frowned, “I would rather not be around more than one person at a time right now. Is there something you and I can do alone?”

Amanda blushed and looked away, _I’m not sure I can handle being around her by myself right now. Normally, I’d want to go flying with her, but there’s a moratorium on all spellcasting right now . . ._

When Amanda still hadn’t said anything after almost a full minute, Akko nodded and grabbed her hand, “Come on, let’s go.”

“W-what, where are we going?”

Akko smiled back at her, “To the library to study.”

“WHAT?!”

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“Aaaakkoooo,” Amanda whined, “I’m borrrrred.”

Akko placed a bookmark in the book she was reading, _Yggdrasil and the Origins of Magic_. “Amanda O’Neill. You and I both know that of all students at Luna Nova, we could definitely study more.”

“I don’t wanna’.”

She closed her book, “What do you want to do, then?”

“When that note said you were acting strange I thought you’d be like, all over me or something.”

“What is this, an anime? I am perfectly normal at the moment. I am incredibly interested in pursuing my studies here at Luna Nova,” _And incredibly worried I may not be able to._ “It’s something I know you care a lot about too.”

“I don’t really care about—”

“I know that you like Diana, a lot.”

“What? She told you!”

“Diana knows? Are you two going to start dating?” _Why does that hurt?_

“Aren’t you dating Diana! You two are always all over each other!”

“Why would I be dating Diana? We’re just really good friends!”

“WHAT?!”

“Ahem,” the librarian’s sudden cough startled them both, but Akko reacted much more strongly than Amanda. She fell over the back of her chair to get away, and once on the ground, started scrambling on all fours as she disappeared from sight.

Amanda ran after her.

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“What the hell was that, Akko?” Amanda had finally cornered the young witch. Akko had her back to a wall and was looking around wildly. “Akko!”

Finally, Akko looked back up at Amanda, and her look changed to be sultry. “So you want me to be ecchi?”

“Huh?”

Akko ran her fingers through Amanda’s hair, and reached up to grab her friend’s ribbon with her other hand, “I may not be Diana, but I think I can make you smile.”

She pulled Amanda closer by tugging on the ribbon to bring her in for a kiss. At the last moment, Amanda spun out of her grasp. Akko pushed her back to the wall and let herself slide down to the floor. “Aw, where are you going? Don’t you want. To. Play. With. Me?”

Akko stretched and took a deep breath, pushing out her chest.

Amanda coughed and averted her eyes from the young witch to stare at the floor, “Why are you out of breath?”

“Don’t be coy,” Akko said with a smile.

Amanda let her gaze travel from Akko’s boots to her thighs, but refused to look her in the eyes. “I’m just not used to being the one—never mind that. What happened? One second you’re Miss Prim and Proper and the next you’re, you’re . . .”

“Awesome?”

“Hell yes! But that’s not what I was going to say!”

Akko gazed at Amanda gazing at her, and slowly drew her hands up her thighs, lightly shifting the bottom of her dress up. Amanda audibly gulped. Akko left her hemline and ran her hands up the outside of her shirt. Amanda’s gaze went up and up to Akko’s knowing smile.

“This is insane,” Amanda commented, unable to take her eyes off Akko as the lustful witch gently bit down on her fingers.

“Don’t you want to go mad with me?”

“Come on! We’re going to Diana’s,” Amanda crossed the distance between them and grabbed Akko’s hand, pulling her along. Akko fell with a moan.

“I knew it was Diana who you really liked,” Akko pouted from the floor. _How am I supposed to be seductive when I’m such a klutz?_

“HOW? How did you know I liked Diana?”

Akko twisted around to look up at Amanda, “It was obvious. You’re always complaining about her and no one else can get you so riled up. When you don’t think anyone is looking, you sneak looks at her.”

“No one else noticed!”

“How did they not notice? Anyone paying attention would have!”

“Wait a second, don’t you think that describes _you_ perfectly? You probably only noticed because you’re always looking at Diana!”

“I don’t complain about Diana!”

“Not anymore, but you used to!”

“We’re just really good friends!”

“Argh!”

“Are you going to make out with me? I learned how to kiss earlier.”

“YOU DID WHAT?”

“Come here!” Akko held her arms out, waiting for the other witch to join her on the floor.

“ARGH! GO FIND DIANA!” Amanda stalked through the nearest classroom door and slammed it behind her.

“How rude.”

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The knocking was a welcome respite from her studies. Diana stretched and composed herself before opening the door, “Akko?”

“Oh my god, Diana, you would not believe the day I had!” Akko came through the door, “Hannah and Barbara aren’t here, right? Thank goodness. Not that I don’t want to see them, but right now I really can’t handle crowds.”

“Please come in,” Diana remarked dryly as she shut the door.

“Everyone is acting so bonkers today!” Despite everything that had happened to them recently, Diana smiled. “That’s what I needed to see! You’ve got the best smile. I can’t even tell you.”

“So what trouble have you been getting into today?”

“Heyyyy, don’t be mean. I haven’t gotten into trouble at all yet this semester. I mean, we snuck in and grabbed some cake the other day—we made sure no tarts this time—but we only had an hour’s worth of detention for that, so it like doesn’t even count.”

“Would you like some tea, Akko?” Akko had already plopped herself on Diana’s bed.

“I would totally love some of your tea! But I’m beyond stuffed, I had an eating contest with Jasminka earlier and if I eat in a week it’ll be too soon.”

“What prompted that?” Diana asked interestedly.

“Oh! Before I forget, I have a message to give you.” She fished around in her pocket and pulled out the now wrinkled piece of paper, “I’m not sure what’s on it, but Sucy thought it was important enough to send me over here.”

Diana didn’t respond as she read the message. _Acting strange? But she seems completely normal?_

At that moment, they both heard the door to Diana’s suite open. Akko shrank back into the wall terrified. “Akko, it’s fine, it’s probably just Hannah and Barbara.”

“No!” Akko screamed and jumped out of the bed, Diana grabbed her arms to keep her from bolting.

“Akko, what is going on? Akko?”

“Let me go! I have to get away! Let. Me. Go!” Akko’s struggled succeeded in tipping them both backwards onto Diana’s bed.

Hannah and Barbara peeked around the bookshelves to see what was going on and saw Diana on top of the smaller witch, holding her down. “Oh!” they both squeaked out, before bolting from the room themselves.

As soon as they left, Akko’s eyes refocused on Diana’s, “haha, as much as I like your hugs, this is a little much, isn’t it, Diana?”

Diana let go and sat up, but kept her weight on Akko. “What is going on?”

Akko flushed at the feel of Diana’s weight on her, “Nothing’s going on, I’m just sitting here talking to you and you’re sitting on me.” She hurried to add, “Not that I mind!”

Diana slowly lifted herself from Akko and stood up; Akko sat up and looked at her. Satisfied she wasn’t going to run away, Diana looked at her closer.

“Tell me what you have been doing all day.”

“I’ve just been trying to get here since flying class.” Akko said, “Oh, are you and Barbara both alright? I mean, you seemed fine and it’s you so I’m sure you were OK.”

“We’ll talk about that later, Akko,” Diana admonished her. “I need to know details about your day. How have you been acting?”

Akko thought for a minute before responding, “Well, after I left Sucy, I almost got into a fight with a freshmen, but she was being a real punk, then I kissed Ursula-sensei, then I helped Finneran-sensei carry some books, then I had an eating contest with Jasminka, then I studied in the library with Amanda, then I tried to seduce Amanda but that didn’t work out, then I came here.”

“Is that everything?”

“I mean, most of it. I also gave a pep talk to the union leader of the demihumans and practiced a comedy skit with Kouchou-sensei that was a lot of fun. I sat quietly with Constanze while she worked for a while and I spent most of my time hiding and running away from groups of people.”

Diana thought while Akko stared at her expectantly. “Wait a moment—you kissed Shiny Chariot?”

Akko frowned, _Why the Shiny?_ “That’s the part that you single out? That was my first kiss! And my second for that matter.”

“You kissed her twice!” It was Diana’s turn to squeak. She took a few deep breaths. “None of this seems strange to you?”

Akko opened her mouth to deny it, but then stopped, “I mean, it’s like, somewhere deep inside I was upset that was my first kiss, you know? Although if you had told 6-year old me that she’d grow up and Shiny Chariot would be her first—and second—kiss, she’d totally flip.” Akko thought some more, “And at the end there with Amanda I was . . . afraid? I think. But Amanda was great about it so I didn’t really have anything to worry about.”

Diana thought some more and went and pulled a few books out. “Modern psychology? What do you have something like that for, Diana?”

“I wish I could focus solely on magic, but I have to be educated about many things to survive as a Cavendish.” She closed the book.

Akko waited, “Are you going to explain everything then?”

“No, but I have a question, Akko.”

“Shoot.”

“How do you think I would like you to behave around me?”

“What? What kind of question is that?”

“A sincere one.”

“Well, I mean, I’m sure I used to think that you’d want me to be all prim and proper and studious and everything, but now . . . ”

“Yes?” Diana asked with a smile.

Akko returned her smile, “I think you just want me to be myself. You believe in me, remember?”

Diana nodded her head in assent even as she blushed slightly, “I do, and I do believe in you. You’re wonderful the way you are.”

“Diana,” Akko said questioningly, “Are you going to fix me?”

She frowned, “Not just the poison, but I’m going to fix everything. Leave it to me.”

“That’s troublesome,” Akko confessed.

“What is? Don’t you want to get better?”

“Of course I do, Diana, that’s not the point. I want to get better but I want you to be normal too.”

“It’s normal for me to worry about you.”

“If you believe in me you shouldn’t worry about me.”

“Are these your true feelings?”

“I guess I was faking being normal before. I hate this, Diana. I hate this so much.”

“Akko, what can I do?”

“I just want you to smile like you used to!”

“What?”

“Every time you’ve looked at me for the last week you’ve been sad!”

“Akko!” Diana sat beside her on the bed and threw her arms around her. “Akko, you make me the happiest I’ve ever been! I don’t think I even knew what happiness was before we became friends!”

“I want to be friends with you forever, Diana!”

“We will be! I will never leave you!”

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“Diana, I really don’t think this will work,” Akko started to fidget and stretch at the ropes tying her to the heavy wooden chair.

“You’re just going to have to trust me, Akko.” Diana reassured her, “I’ll be right back.”

As soon as Diana shut the door behind her, Akko started pulling and jumping in her seat to get loose. All she managed to do was tilt the chair over and now be uncomfortably tied to the chair.

Diana returned shortly with Hannah and Barbara in tow behind her. At one sight of her, they both fainted dead away. “Oh, for goodness sakes! I told them I had her restrained.”

Akko peeked open an eye and saw the two unconscious witches, “I guess it’s alright if they’re unconscious.”

“We’re just going to have to wait for them to wake up now, Akko.”

“No. I don’t wanna’!”

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The second round of exposing Akko to more than one person’s perception went slightly better. Akko screamed and jerked on her bonds to the point of hurting herself, but once she was confronted with all three of the witches and not able to escape she passed out herself.

It was the middle of the night when Akko woke again. She looked up to see Diana working at her desk, a small spirit providing just enough illumination. “Diana?”

Diana jumped in her seat a little and turned around, “Akko?”

“Am I better?”

“Should I wake Hannah and Barbara to check?”

“No, that’s alright, let them sleep,” Akko said.

Diana arched an eyebrow, “We’ll check in the morning just to be sure, but the fact that the thought of it didn’t send you running for the door is a good sign.” Diana turned back to the tome she was reading.

“What are you doing?”

“Researching.”

“You should sleep.”

“Someone is in my bed,” Diana chided. “Not that I mind, I’m usually up this late.”

“There’s plenty of room,” Akko offered, “Please? It’ll be like a sleepover.”

Diana sighed and stood up, affording Akko a view of her cute pajamas. Thinking rapidly, Akko looked down at herself and saw her clad in a similar set. Her face colored at the thought of wearing Diana’s clothes.

Diana stood before her, “Move over.”

“Don’t wanna’.”

“Honestly,” Diana sighed and climbed in bed, laying at the very edge, about to tip over.

“Honestly!” Akko seconded, reaching out and grabbing Diana and pulling her closer. Once they were face to face, Akko let go and reached for Diana’s hand. She realized her actions in a second, “Is this OK?”

“Of course, we’re friends. This much should be fine, right?”

“That’s what I keep telling people.”

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The sound of two witches fainting and thumping against the floor woke them up in the morning. “What could have caused a fainting spell this time?”

Akko stretched and ignored the two Hannah and Barbara shaped lumps on the ground, “Do we really have to get up?”

“You may not have to Akko, but I do. All of our teachers are working to figure out how to fix the Sorcerer’s Stone and I plan to assist them.”

“ ‘Assist them’? I’m sure it will be you or Ursula-sensei that figures it out on your own. What’s wrong with the Sorcerer’s Stone anyway?”

Diana answered, “It’s absorbing too much magic and overpowering every spell cast while tapped into it. They’ve put magic isolators up all around it to prevent anyone from doing magic.”

“What! First me, now NO ONE can use magic?”

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	7. Episode 02: Luna Nova Over Capacity: Part III

By the third day without magic, every witch at Luna Nova was at their wit’s end. Thankfully, that was also the day when Diana had come up with a plan. The issue was too much magic, so they just had to do something with all that extra magic. The solution: a campus-wide gravity spell designed to safely catch falling witches from brooms.

The ritual was very pretty and involved multiple professors joining in a circle with Diana at their center. Surrounded by blue crystals, Diana’s voice rose above the chorus of her teachers to cast the spell she had designed with Chariot’s input.

It lasted for about 3 seconds.

Afterwards, anyone and anything not tied down for a mile from their circle began to float in midair.

With a pained expression on her face, Diana canceled the spell and broke the circle’s magic. She fell to her knees. Chariot landed nimbly and rushed over to console her. Diana pounded the ground in frustration, “It was just too much magic.”

“It wasn’t a bad idea, Diana, but we can’t control magic the way we’re used to. Not even you have any experience channeling that much magic.”

“No, but you do. We should have had you at the center,” Diana was glad for something to take her mind off her failure, and analyzing the results was enough for her to detach the emotional centers of her brain.

“We went over this already Diana, we needed me in the circle to guide the other professors.”

Diana chewed her thumb in a rare display of public frustration, “If we could just sap the Stone’s power enough to temporarily work magic normally, this ritual would work!”

“Yes, I agree, but we don’t have a way to sap the . . . ” she trailed off in thought.

“What is it? Do you know of a way to absorb the magic?”

Chariot shook her head, “It’s not something we can do anymore, but if we had the Shiny Rod, it could absorb magic and work as a portable Sorcerer’s Stone. Not something we have as an option now.”

Diana nodded, “True, but it is still worthwhile to know that would have been an option. What about an artificial Shiny Rod?”

“Croix—well, I wasn’t supposed to take her out last time, so I burned some of my bridges with her facility. I doubt they’d let me speak to her about making an artificial Shiny Rod, and it’s not like the last time was a rousing success or anything.”

By this time, the other professors had collected themselves and joined Chariot and Diana. Their platitudes washed over her, but she ignored them, seeking out the red eyes she knew would be watching her. Akko frowned from the shadows of the dormitory building. Diana blinked back tears and shook her head.

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“Well, this sucks!” Amanda grumbled for all of them, red, green, and blue teams altogether in their misery, sitting in the cafeteria after lunch. “I can’t believe that didn’t work.”

Akko shook her head, “But it’s not like not using magic is all that bad, right? We’re learning a lot of theory after all.”

“Are you still suffering from the effects of my poison, Akko?” Sucy asked her.

Akko shook her head violently, “Um, I thought we agreed not to bring that up?”

Hannah laid her hand on Akko’s hand. Barbara’s head whipped around and her gaze locked on the movement. “Akko, don’t you think it’s about time you told everyone?”

Diana placed her hand over Hannah and Akko’s, “I agree, Akko. You have delayed for nearly ten days.”

Akko swallowed nervously, “Like, all of it? I already told everyone I wasn’t allowed to use magic.”

“Yeah, which is why you’re not bothered by the rest of us not being able to use it.”

“Of course I’m bothered, Amanda!” Akko refuted, “I want everyone to love and use magic!” Diana looked at her unblinkingly. Akko nodded and both Diana and Hannah gave her a squeeze before withdrawing. “The truth is, I am not allowed to use my magic—even though I had previously actually totally lost it and just got it back and it’s even _more_ amazing than ever—because Diana and Chariot and Croix think it might— _mumble mumble_.” She trailed off so no one could hear her.

“What was that, Akko?” Barbara asked. _The least she could do is answer completely after Hannah and Diana held her hand_.

“I SAID IT MIGHT KILL ME!” Akko shouted loudly.

The rest of the cafeteria looked over at the disturbance, saw who was making it, and went back to their meals and conversations.

Everyone began talking at once.

“What do you mean it might kill you?!”  
“Magic is hurting you?!”  
“What can we do to help?!”  
“You drank a magic potion when you can’t use magic?!”  
“ _bzt_ —This is not good!”  
“I’ve lost my appetite.”

Everyone turned to stare at Jasminka at that declaration, and then their heads slowly pivoted back to Akko. Diana came to her rescue, “Yggdrasil itself is flowing through her directly. We do not know much, but the most apt metaphor I have found is she is a wax candle, and her accessing Yggdrasil is like placing that candle next to a roaring bonfire. Indeed, the candle will catch and provide some illumination, but it will devour her.”

Sucy sniffled and hugged Akko, “You’re too stupid! You need to tell us these things. I would have never given you that potion if I had known. What if it had needed your magic to activate?”

“Oh, I hadn’t thought of that,” Akko said nervously, now thinking about it.

Lotte hugged her from the other side, “Don’t you trust us? Why didn’t you tell us?”

Akko looked pleadingly at Diana, “My smile?” Akko nodded and Diana returned it, “Ahem, well. Since finding out about Akko, I have been—shall we say—depressed.”

“It totally sucks, guys! She barely smiles and she looks at me all sad.”

“You’re dying! We’re allowed to be sad,” Amanda was the one that managed to say that through her tears. Constanze had her head down so no one could see her cry, but the soft whimpers she made were heard by everyone. Jasminka was not smiling, and she was not eating either.

Barbara glomped Hannah, “I can’t believe you knew and had to go through knowing too. I’m so sorry for how jealous I’ve been lately.”

“The thing is, I don’t think I’m dying.”

At that revelation, everyone turned to look at her and Sucy and Lotte detached. Barbara continued to hold onto Hannah however. Diana frowned at her. “Please explain, Akko.”

“Well, I’ve been reading and stuff, and Yggdrasil isn’t a fire. It’s more like she’s a river. Well, a bunch of rivers, spreading out all across the world, and the Grand Triskelion made all those rivers overflow so that water—that’s magic I mean—is flooding everywhere in-between the rivers—which are the leylines.”

“What are you in this metaphor, a lake?” Sucy asked.

“I’m like an otter that gets to swim wherever she wants now!” Akko offered helpfully.

“An otter?” Lotte asked, “Why an otter?”

“Indeed. What evidence do you have that you are swimming and not drowning?” Diana seconded.

“Well, like, it doesn’t feel bad.”

“May I remind you that you passed out hundreds of feet in the air the last time you used magic?”

“That was after using the Words! And a bunch of them! And back-to-back!”

“You can use the Words again, Akko?” Lotte exclaimed.

“It’s like I don’t even need the Shiny Rod, or more like, I _am_ the Shiny Rod!” Akko was excited to share that bit of news.

“Enough! If we had the Shiny Rod the rest of us would be able to use the Sorcerer’s Stone, you are desperate to prove me wrong for believing in you!” Diana stood and stormed away.

Akko gestured at Diana, “See, this is the sort of thing that made me hesitate to tell you guys.”

Amanda jumped in, “Akko, do you really not see how important you are to her? To all of us?”

“Come on, when has anyone of us ever seen her react like that? This is killing her more than it is me. I just want to help.”

Lotte hugged Akko once more, “Akko, just by being you, you help all of us. We wouldn’t be where we are today without you.”

“Yeah, but I want to help with magic.”

Jasminka held out a cookie for Akko, and Akko took it and gulped it down. Jasminka smiled and held out another cookie. And another. “Alright, we should go before Jasminka drowns Akko in cookies,” Amanda offered, “When she worries about someone she tries to feed them to death.”

“She needs her strength,” Jasminka cooed.

“I’m strong!” Akko replied, “I mean really, right now I have more magic than any of you, you know?”

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Akko was up late studying again. “Lotte—do something, I need sleeeeep,” Sucy called out from under her covers in bed.

Lotte peered over the side of her bunk bed down to Akko at her desk, “Akko, what are you reading?”

“It’s a journal Croix-sensei left me,” Akko replied distractedly.

“WHAT?!” Sucy sat straight up in bed, “Why are you reading that?”

“Found it!” Akko shouted enthusiastically.

“What did you find, Akko?” Lotte asked.

“Well, I was really curious when Diana said if we had the Shiny Rod you’d all be able to do magic, so I was reading this journal she left about her research into the Shiny Rod—although she calls it the Claiomh Solais all of the time,” Akko said slightly annoyed. She picked up a cookie from her plate full of cookies and spoke while munching through it, “Dif you know fuh— _swallow_ —the Shiny Rod can absorb the magic out of the Sorcerer’s Stone?”

“Wow, too bad we don’t have the Shiny Rod right about now,” Sucy said as she rolled back into her blankets and snuggled in.

“But we do! Guys, I’m our Shiny Rod!” Akko announced.

Sucy’s eye popped open in terror, and Lotte was right behind her as they thought the same thing. _Akko thinks she can save the school. If Akko uses magic she could die or burn out. Stop Akko!_

Lotte jumped off the top bunk to try to grab Akko, but Akko slipped away from her grasp. The distraction was enough for Sucy to throw a mushroom at her, which bounced off her head before multiplying and cascading down on the hapless witch.

Except, Akko was really the only witch in the room with the Sorcerer’s Stone cut off. Akko in mouse form darted out from under the mushroom avalanche and popped back into her natural shape. The ethereal visage of the Shiny Rod appeared in her hands, and she waved it at the mushrooms as she bolted out of the room.

Instantly, the mushrooms resumed multiplying and both Sucy and Lotte were quickly buried. “Arae Aryrha!” was dimly heard from outside.

Lotte struggled to the door, worming her way through the mushrooms filling the room, “It’s blocked! Probably by the Word,”

“Lotte, can you still call spirits without the Sorcerer’s Stone?” Sucy asked, struggling to breathe under the weight of the mushrooms.

“I think I can!”

“Tell everyone! They have to stop Akko!”

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Akko faced down the two witches she was most worried about without magic, the strongwoman Jasminka and the technowitch Constanze. “Phaidoari Afairynghor!”

A huge scythe appeared in Akko’s hands. “I don’t want to break your toys, Constanze!”

Apparently, Constanze did not feel the same way, as she gave the order to charge. The bots were mowed down mercilessly by the sweeps of Akko’s scythe. Constanze frowned in concentration and began firing one of her bots converted into a gun.

Akko dodged away, doing a backwards somersault when Jasminka began throwing tables at her. With a wave of her scythe, the tables turned into balloons, and Akko used the confusion of their appearance to bolt from the hallway.

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Amanda tackled Akko from behind, bringing them both down. Akko began struggling, but only managed to turn around in the larger girl’s arms. “I’ve got you Akko, you’re not going anywhere!”

Akko struggled more in her grasp, managing to get her legs around the Amanda’s waist and rolling her so she was on top. “Tia Freyre!”

“That spell doesn’t work without a broom—whoa!” Amanda released Akko suddenly as she began to float into the air. Akko jumped off of her floating friend and left her stranded midair. “Let me down! I can’t believe you rode _me_ like a broom!”

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Akko bolted out the doors of Luna Nova towards the tower holding the Sorcerer’s Stone. Hannah and Barbara were waiting for her at the outside gate. Barbara commanded, “Stop, Akko!”

Hannah followed up with, “Akko! Think about what you’re doing to Diana. She’s going to be crushed!”

“I know what I’m doing!” Akko shouted, “For once in my life, I know exactly what I’m doing. I’m thinking before leaping! Let me pass!”

Hannah shook her head and Barbara followed suit, they linked arms, blocking the pathway. “That’s not going to stop a witch! Sybilladura Lelladybura!”

The Shiny Volley took form in Akko’s hands, and she wasted not a second before leaping astride it and flying over Hannah and Barbara’s heads and out the gate.

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“Vega Varulus!” The spell was a surprise, but the kick launched by her idol was a bit more of a surprise. Akko dismissed the Shiny Volley to avoid it, then hurriedly summoned it back into existence and resumed flying ten feet lower.

Not to be dissuaded, Chariot shouted, “Belga Veeda!”

The blast of energy followed the Shiny Volley as Akko took it on twists and turns. The tail end of the blast caught the Volley and Akko was thrown from it, rolling across the ground. Chariot rushed over to check on her.

“Belga Veeda!” Akko had never cast such a spell before, but knowledge from Yggdrasil filled her upon hearing the spell for the first time. Akko put just enough energy to knock Chariot away. She did not bother to check on Chariot, knowing exactly how much magic had been behind the blast. “Sybilladura Lelladybura!”

Summoning the Shiny Volley once more, Akko raced through the entryway to the tower of the Sorcerer’s Stone and began flying straight up.

Finally, she reached the room holding the Sorcerer’s Stone—where Diana stood waiting for her.

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Lotte was crying; the kind of crying that no one wants to be seen doing—shuddering sobs and runny nose and all around miserable. Sucy rubbed her back as Lotte hiccoughed. “Why Sucy?”

Sucy shook her head, “Akko’s an idiot. She thinks she can make a difference just by believing she can . . . and I’m sure she will, just, she doesn’t think about getting hurt when she does these things.”

“What’s an injury or five or six,” Lotte said, reminiscing, “I don’t know how to support her anymore. I want to be there for her, but I get so choked up. I’m frozen with fear.”

“Watching her and Diana against the missile . . . they were in space fighting a monster without knowing where their magic was coming from. I don’t know how Diana does it.”

Lotte managed a smile through her tears, “Well, I think I know how Diana supports Akko.”

Sucy rolled her eyes, “Those two are ridiculous.”

A sob escaped from Lotte, “She’s going to be OK, right? They’ll stop her?”

Sympathetically, Sucy’s breath caught in her throat as she began crying, _Wow, I am really coming down with something._ She collected herself before answering, “She’ll be OK, but I don’t think they’ll stop her.”

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The remaining Stanbots were doing their best to comfort their inventor, but the smol witch couldn’t move from her grief. Jasminka was trying to get Constanze to eat a donut, but she kept moving her head away when it would get close to her mouth. Jasminka frowned and said resolutely, “I don’t know what to do at times like this, Constanze.”

Constanze looked up at her teammate and threw her arms around her, hugging her tight. Jasminka couldn’t handle the affection and began crying herself.

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Amanda twisted and turned, but all she managed to do was set herself spinning in midair. With no one around, and unable to get down on her own, she covered her face and curled up into a ball, crying.

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“Diana will stop her, right?” Barbara asked.

“If anyone could stop her, she will.”

Hannah reached out for Barbara’s hand and together they looked up to the top of the tower, where the green light of the Sorcerer’s Stone sang out like a beacon, even as it was obscured by the magic isolators. “I’m scared.”

“Witches are meant to be feared,” Hannah gently chided her, reminding her of something Diana was fond of telling them.

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“Ow ow ow ow.” Chariot groaned as she sat up, “I guess that’s what I get for underestimating Akko.”

She looked towards the tower, “I need to get up there!”

As she lifted herself to her feet, the Sorcerer’s Stone dimmed, _No, I’m already too late. Akko!_

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“Diana.” Akko dismissed the volley and dropped lightly to the ground.

“Akko.”

“Believe in me, please. Trust that I know what I’m doing.”

Diana gave a smile that did not reach her eyes, filled with tears as they were, “Akko, do you see what is around me?”

Akko looked uncertainly at the ground, magic crystals in a circle with Diana at their center and ancient script ringing around both of them. “The, the broom catching spell?”

Diana nodded, “I believe in you, Akko. I will support you the only way I know how. If you are sure you can do this safely, I will cast this spell the moment you get the Sorcerer’s Stone back down to normal levels. You draining the Stone would only work temporarily, but the ritual will continue to act and drain it to acceptable levels so you do not have to do something so . . . daring again.”

“Haha, you were going to say something so stupid,” Akko teased her.

Diana gestured towards her, “I can only imagine what you had to get through to get up here. I believe in you with all my heart, Akko. Prove me right.”

Akko smiled and Diana could not help but return it. “Alright! Dokidoki no wakuwaku time!” _Dokidoki out the wazoo! My heart is pounding even more now than it was when I was fighting Chariot—holy crap, I fought Chariot!_ “Wait a second.”

“Akko?” Diana asked uncertainly.

“How was Chariot—Ursula-sensei casting spells?”

“Akko, don’t you have more important things to worry about right now?”

Akko flushed, but shook her head, “I’m thinking before leaping right now, if she’s accessing magic then maybe my thought process was wrong. I won’t let you down by making my choice without all the facts.”

Diana nodded in understanding, “The Sorcerer’s Stone is isolated from the school and is still absorbing the magic of the leyline, so there was no extra magic for casting. Is that what you mean?” At Akko’s nod, “The rivers are flooding, Akko. The Stone is past its maximum capacity and much more magic is coming through. It is critical. If we do not do something, the Stone will explode. There is so much magic flooding through this area right now that everyone outside can tap into it even with the isolators in place.”

“Ah OK, thanks for clearing that up! If it’s just more magic, then there shouldn’t be a problem!” Akko spun her hands as though the Shiny Rod was in them, and moments later it appeared. “Let’s do this! Phasansheer Shearylla!”

The Seventh Word rang through the room like a thunderclap, and a branch of Yggdrasil popped into existence in its wake. Grabbing the branch, Akko shouted “Phasansheer Shearylla!” once more before clutching it to her heart.

The branch sank beneath her clothes and skin and the Shiny Rod exploded.

When Diana could see again, a twelve-foot transparent Shiny Rod in its cross form had wholly enveloped Akko, who was floating off the ground at its center. The Sorcerer’s Stone began spinning angrily and magic lanced off from it to strike the cross containing Akko.

Akko began to scream.

“Akko!”

Akko gritted her teeth through the magic storm and held up her hands, “Diana!”

All at once, all the magic of the Sorcerer’s Stone leapt through the air to be absorbed into the cross form of the Shiny Rod, the room dimmed, the cross dissipated, and Akko slowly slumped to her knees on the floor.

Diana did not break the circle, instead throwing her concentration into her spell. Ritual spells needed at least three witches to bring into existence, but with Akko kneeling outside and the Sorcerer’s Stone hovering in midair, Diana thought she could work her way through it.

A long stream of syllables began escaping from Diana too quickly and melodiously to make out, the Sorcerer’s Stone began to weakly pulse as it started to refill with magic and fell into rhythm with the magic of Diana’s spell. Akko watched Diana wordlessly.

The magical energies pushed and pulled on Diana at their center until finally the spell was complete and all the magic in the room winked out.

It was Diana’s turn to fall to her knees. They were left in darkness.

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	8. Episode 02: Luna Nova Over Capacity: Part IV

“Diana!” The scream of glee was all the warning the prodigy had before she was tackled. Thankfully, the magic crystals she had used in her spell had burnt up and were not an obstacle to their bodies hitting the floor. Akko hugged and squeezed and began kissing Diana on the cheeks as she gushed, “You were so amazing! You cast a ritual spell all by yourself! I’ve never even heard of someone doing that!”

Diana flushed and was glad the Sorcerer’s Stone was only slowly beginning to brighten. Although Akko was rolling them around enough it was unlikely she could notice how embarrassed Diana was becoming. “I just thought of everything you were doing and did not wish to see you have to do any of that again and I reached out for the magic.”

“That’s what I do!” Akko exclaimed as she kissed her solidly on the lips, “Ohmigosh, that’s OK, right?”

Diana’s mind was a million miles away in orbit.

“Diana, Diana? Hello? Venus to Mars,” Akko asked.

Diana refocused on Akko, “It is supposed to be ‘Earth to Diana’, Akko.” She thought back to Akko’s question, “And yes. Hannah and Barbara told me that best friends sometimes kiss one another like that so it is . . . ”

Diana stopped suddenly as she realized she just implied Akko was her best friend. She had no need to be self-conscious as Akko simply cheered, “Yay!” and kissed her again, and again. When Akko stopped, Diana kissed her.

“I am sorry, but I wanted to kiss you too.”

“That’s OK!” Akko beamed, her smile brighter than the sun, “I want you to kiss me!”

Akko bent over her and kissed her again. Diana’s hands tightened around her back and drew her closer. Akko’s body pressed against her felt so amazing. Diana shifted her hips to roll Akko to her right and resumed kissing. Akko’s right leg wrapped around her butt and pulled her as close as possible. Diana lifted her hand to tuck Akko’s hair behind her ear, taking the opportunity to stare into her eyes.

Diana leaned in and kissed Akko on the forehead, then her right cheek, then her chin, then her nose. Akko giggled and whined, “Diaaanaaa.”

Diana smiled and leaned in, brushing her lips against her best friend’s lips. “I love you so much, Akko. I am so glad we are friends.”

“Hey! We’re best friends! Not just friends. I love you too!” Akko resumed kissing her, her hands weaving their way through Diana’s blonde tresses. They could not pull each other close enough. Diana groaned in pleasure and Akko kissed her open mouth.

The groan of exhaustion that came from the staircase jolted them from their reverie. “So. Many. Stairs.”

Akko rolled onto her back, pulling Diana across her as they regarded their professor and childhood idol. “You’re a little late! We already fixed it.” Diana nuzzled into Akko’s neck to kiss her there, she began kissing up her jawline and nibbled on Akko’s ear. Akko groaned and giggled, “Diana! That tickles!”

Someone lit a fire under Chariot’s cheeks and her mouth dropped open. No words escaped her.

Diana giggled, “Professor Chariot, you appear like a fish like that!”

Akko glanced at their professor and rolled her eyes, pulling Diana more on top of her, her right leg still hooked behind her friend. Her left hand scratched at Diana’s side until Diana looked her in the eyes and realized what she wanted. Diana leaned over and resumed kissing her.

Finally, Chariot came to her senses, “Girls! I realize you have both just—stop kissing for a moment! I realize you have both just went through a life-and-death situation, but your behavior is completely inappropriate! Such behavior should only occur when you are on a date or in private!”

“Whaaaat?” Akko whined, “Why would I go on a date with Diana?”

“Huh?”

“Yes, Professor Chariot. We are simply extremely elated to both be safe; we are not dating,” Diana reached up and kissed Akko once more, “Please do not ever worry me like that again, Akko. You mean too much to me.”

“Heyyy, I thought you said you believed in me?”

“I will never not believe in you, but I will also never not worry about you. I love you.”

“I love you, too,” Akko kissed her again.

“Huh?” Chariot watched, mouth agape.

“Haha, I think we broke Ursula-sensei,” they resumed kissing.

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“Ahem, the two witches in question were both suffering from a combination of simultaneous exposure to magic overuse and a magic overdose. The symptoms included drastically lowering their inhibitions and a general euphoria . . . _although who knows how much of the euphoria was from their actions_ ,” Professor Chariot trailed off.

“What was that last part?” Professor Finneran asked.

“Ah, I was merely commenting that their inhibitions were dramatically lowered.”

“It is incredible what these two were able to do,” Headmistress Holbrooke commented with a smile. Her smile faded to a frown as she regarded the reports on her desk, “Others have not been so lucky.”

The other professors in Holbrooke’s office frowned, even Professor Luki **ć** took no pleasure in the gruesome news.

Vice Principal Badcock picked up the papers. “The Sorcerer’s Stone at the Sol Veritas Wizard Academy has exploded, the school has been destroyed and rescue teams are still trying to save students and faculty in the rubble.”

At the collective gasp of the faculty, Badcock continued, “The American College for Wizards and Witches managed to avoid having their twin Sorcerer’s Stones explode.”

“Thank God,” came from Professor Nelson.

“Unfortunately, the magic could not be contained and the Stones have entered into a meltdown state. Magic radiation has flooded the campus and it has been evacuated. There is no telling when they will be able to contain or begin to repair the damage.”

“Is there anything we can do?” Chariot asked desperately.

“There is not much we can do that is not already being done; disseminating the procedure Miss Cavendish came up with to sap the stones is our number one priority,” Finneran responded.

“They have had success where the Stones are not as substantial as the one we have here, and there are many rituals that the magical community has been eager to attempt with enough magic on hand to try,” Holbrooke seemed especially tired having to be serious for so long.

One of the first-year professors raised her hand, “You do not need to raise your hand, speak.”

“Why don’t we get rid of the stones? We don’t need them now that magic is so plentiful.”

“That would be . . . difficult,” Chariot conceded. “Each Stone is a priceless treasure and they are almost impossible to dispose of safely.”

“Indeed,” Badcock agreed, “Witches and wizards may be enjoying a period of heightened magic levels, but there is nothing saying how long this will last. We believe it will be centuries until they subside, but who’s to argue that it may only last a decade. Even if we were able to get rid of all the Sorcerer’s Stones—which is no small task—if the world’s magic were to then recede . . . ”

“Well, we could just ask Akko to fix it again,” Chariot said offhandedly.

Finneran glared at her peevishly, “Don’t you mean Diana? Just because Diana allowed Akko to participate is no reason to believe . . . ”

“That is enough,” Holbrooke surprisingly intervened. Chariot looked at her in wonder, “It has been accepted as fact by the magical community that Akko was the wielder of the Claiomh Solais. _Any_ suggestion that she was only a participant is tantamount to denial of her accomplishments and will not be tolerated.”

Finneran stopped herself from arguing any further, as much as she gave Akko a hard time, she had an idea of how hard she worked. It was more obstinacy and favoritism towards Diana than anything else that kept her suggesting Diana should be given more credit than Akko.

Chariot decided to be political, “It is truly a wonder that Diana was able to come up with a technique to sap the Stones.”

Finneran smiled and nodded at the young witch. She frowned as she thought of the destruction that had come to the two other schools, “Still, if it were one of the witch’s schools or a coed school that were the same age group, we might be able to accept at least some of the students here, but college students and wizards would have no place here.”

Holbrooke hummed and coughed, “W-well, we will be accepting some of the college-aged witches as graduate students here. They will assist in teaching and researching. At least a few of them are alumni from Luna Nova.”

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Diana and Akko walked hand-in-hand through the halls of Luna Nova. The silence between them was amicable and comfortable. Eventually, Akko broke it, “Everyone sure is looking at us funny.”

Diana frowned as she considered whether to reveal the new information she had come across, “I asked Hannah and Barbara about that . . . ”

“And? What did they say?” Akko asked curiously.

“They said that some best friends do not do these things.”

“What?! Are you serious? This is the best!” Akko squeezed her hand tightly.

Diana smiled, “Indeed.”

Akko stopped dead in her tracks, “Wait, does that mean you don’t wanna’ hold my hand anymore?”

Akko tried to pull her hand free, but Diana resisted, “No! I mean, I do want to hold your hand.”

Akko nodded, “And what about kisses?”

Diana looked furtively around, then leaned in and kissed the corner of Akko’s mouth. Akko beamed a megawatt smile back at her, and Diana could not resist another kiss. “They said that if we do not want everyone to misunderstand that holding hands is probably alright, but kissing should only be done in privacy.”

“Well that explains Ursula-sensei at least.”

“Akko,” Diana asked for her attention and waited until Akko’s crimson eyes met her azure ones, “You do not think it is strange that we kiss and hold hands and cuddle, do you?”

Akko shook her head slowly, “I’ve wanted to kiss you for so long.”

Diana smiled and turned away. Akko pouted and pushed her face up against Diana’s turned cheek. “Um, yes, Akko?”

“Dfon’ ton wei.”

Diana turned back to her and Akko kissed her, “I said, ‘Don’t turn away’.”

“Ah, I see. So we shall go meet your friends now.”

“Our friends, Di-chan,” Akko disagreed, “You need to stop excluding yourself. You’re as much a part of our group of friends as I am.”

Diana nodded once, “It is difficult. I have never really had friends.”

“Hannah and—”

“They are wonderful and I am so grateful for their friendship, but there was always a distance between us until you brought me back to Luna Nova. That changed everything.”

“Sou ka,” Akko said, “I’m a little afraid to face everyone to be honest.”

Diana’s laughter rang out like a bell, “Well, the last time you faced them you weren’t exactly on the best of terms.”

“Do you think they’ll understand?”

Diana squeeze her hand and offered a smile, “They are good friends.”

Akko reached the lounge for her floor and hesitated before knocking, “It is a public room, Akk—”

“WHO KNOCKS TO GET INTO A LOUNGE?” Amanda slammed open the door and grabbed Akko, pulling her inside. Diana, still attached at the hand, came along with her. Akko stood in the center of the room and faced her friends.

“Um, hi guys.” She looked back at Diana, who smiled at her. _OK, I can do this._ She began, “So, I’m not sorry for what I did.”

“Akko,” Lotte stopped her from going on, “It’s OK. We’re sorry.”

Sucy agreed, “I’m used to thinking of you like an idiot that is just as likely to drink poison as she is an elixir.”

“Is that an apology?” Akko asked unsure.

Amanda laughed, “To be fair, you are just as likely to drink poison.”

“Heyyyy!” Diana laughed also, “HEY! Not you too!”

“Just shut up,” Sucy said. Lotte came in close to hug the two of them—since Diana had still not let go of Akko’s hand—and quickly Sucy, Hannah, Amanda, Barbara, Jasminka, and Constanze swarmed them as well. They fell over.

Akko laughed on the bottom of the pile and everyone joined in. Diana lay on her side, laughing. When she stopped, she couldn’t help but stare at Akko with a smile on her face. Akko turned her head and caught her eye, and her smile turned up even more. “Guys, I feel like we’ve tried this before and had the exact same outcome. Maybe nine is just too many for a group hug.”

Sucy remarked, “Akko thinks one time before making a plan and now she thinks she can use things like logic and reasoning.”

The young witches got up slowly, Diana and Akko remained on the floor, but sat up. Diana scooched closer and rested her chin on Akko’s shoulder. Lotte began to hyperventilate upon the sight of it and caught Barbara’s eye. _I know!_ She communicated wordlessly.

 _Just like Nightfall!_ Lotte gesticulated back.

Hannah nudged Barbara with her shoulder, and Barbara grabbed Hannah’s hand. She smiled regretfully at Lotte.

_You two are just like Nightfall too!_

_I wish!_ Barbara smiled and turned to Hannah to pull her a little closer. She whispered in Hannah’s ear and Hannah smiled before mouthing, “Thank you,” at Lotte.

Amanda took one look at the snuggling witches and grabbed up Constanze and swung her around until a Stanbot stopped her. Constanze wagged her finger at Amanda as she was set down. Amanda laughed nervously, “So what’s everyone doing next week?”

“Huh? What’s next week?” Akko asked.

“You don’t know?” Amanda asked in surprise, “It’s summer break!”

“Whaaaaaaaat?!” Akko screeched. Diana flinched away from her, “Already?! I only just now became allowed to use magic again and I don’t get to go to magic school?!”

Amanda brushed her off, “No one wants to go to classes, Akko.” Before Diana could respond, Amanda continued, “We should totally do something!”

“Oh, that sounds like fun!” Hannah chipped in.

“Oh yeah, I meant we should all do something!” Amanda covered quickly.

“When is everyone free? Is anyone going home?” Lotte asked.

“Hai!” Akko raised her hand, “I have to go home the second week, so I can only do something the first week.”

“What?” Diana asked, “You’re going home?”

Akko nodded without looking at the blonde witch that was only inches from her face, “Hai, I have to return home to help my parents. They made me promise before coming back for this term.”

“How long will you be gone?” Diana asked intently.

“Like, the whole second week. I’m sorry.”

“Oh. My. God. Get a room!” Amanda finally couldn’t take it anymore.

“We are on different teams! How are we supposed to get a room?” Akko asked seriously.

“Are you serious? You WANT to get a room? Since when have you two been dating?”

“We’re just friends!”

“I’m having a stroke!” Amanda dramatically performed a pratfall, which happened to get Akko’s attention further away from Diana.

“Are you OK?” the brunette witch asked as she tried to tug on Amanda’s arms to get her to sit up. Diana frowned in thought.

Lotte, for her part, was furiously scribbling notes, and Barbara was reading over her shoulder, offering her opinions and insights. Hannah kept an eye on those two, but decided to disarm the Amanda bomb in the room while she was at it, “So is the first week alright for everyone?”

Constanze gave her trademark thumbs up and Jasminka paused eating just long enough to coo an assent. Sucy agreed, but began to mutter darkly about new potions to test with ingredients she could not have at Luna Nova. Amanda ignored Akko and slowly sat up, “I guess so, what do we want to do?”

Diana offered, “I should be able to complete the summer homework the first day of break, so this is agreeable to me. I am open to anything everyone else wants to do.”

Lotte looked to Barbara and the two shared another wordless conversation, with a quick nod, they announced in chorus, “It’s got to be the beach!”

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	9. Episode 03: How Akko Got Her Yay Back: Part I

“Yatta!” The shout of pure enthusiasm cut through the beach and drew everyone’s eyes to the flying witch as she dove into and out of the water, “Yatta! Yatta!”

Diana smiled at the sight, happy to see her friend enjoying their vacation. Akko caught sight of her and quickly directed the Shiny Volley to take her back to shore. She hovered in the air instead of dismounting, “Yay! You made it!”

“Akko, we came together, you just flew ahead as soon as we finished checking in.”

“Where’s everyone else?” Akko asked.

Diana became slightly flustered, “Ah, I rushed out right behind you.”

Akko wore a dark blue and white polka dot bikini and miniskirt. It at once called to mind her school uniform and showed more skin than anyone at school had seen. Akko had her hair down and it laid against her dripping wet. The bikini tied behind her neck and revealed only a single strap across her back while the miniskirt remained inches higher than her normal dress. Diana could not resist letting her eyes trace the hemline as Akko floated on the Shiny Volley.

“Wow, Diana! You look so pretty! But you need to eat more! You’re too skinny,” Diana flushed at the compliment and ignored the comment about how skinny she was. Her bikini was a bright turquoise that complimented her eyes and hair and looked amazing on her pale skin. Like Akko’s, her bikini tied up behind her neck, but the strap crossing her back was a simple string tied in a bow. Her bottom tied on both sides as well, effectively revealing the entirety of her thighs and hips. A floppy hat to block the sun completed her outfit. Although minimal in design, Akko was entranced.

“Akko, you look amazing.” Diana’s eyes roamed over Akko’s exposed flesh. “When did you get so athletic?” Akko floated closer and Diana relished the chance to look up into Akko’s eyes for once before kissing her.

It seemed only a moment before they were interrupted with a pointed cough, “Ahem.” Akko fell from her broom into Diana’s waiting arms and the two fell backwards onto the sand. Diana looked upside down backwards and Akko looked up from her resting spot on Diana.

Amanda in a bright red one-piece swimsuit stood before them. “Seriously, you two? You’re fooling around even when you’re dressed like that?”

At her comment, the two witches realized how much of their exposed skin was currently in contact with one another and they scrambled to disentangle each other while simultaneously turning redder than Amanda’s swimsuit. Amanda put her hand to her head in exasperation.

“Amanda! You look great too!” Akko managed to say after an absurdly long recovery time.

Amanda could not help but grin at her as she spun around, revealing the racerback swimsuit with her exposed back and shoulder blades. The suit lay high on her hips and drew their attention to her butt. When she was sure they were staring at her, she turned her head back at them. They hurried to bring their eyes up to her face, “I do look good in a suit, if I do say so myself.”

Constanze, Jasminka, and a Stanbot were slowly walking up to the group. Jasminka was carrying a large bag that was at least the size of her and the Stanbot was dragging a cooler behind it. “Amanda, why did you run all the way here?” Jasminka asked innocently. Amanda began to stutter out an explanation that no one understood.

Constanze wore a purple one piece swimsuit with a green V covering the front. White lace crisscrossed her torso and was tied in a neat bow under her collar bone. The strapless number managed to look cute although everyone knew Constanze had been trying for sexy.

“Constanze, you look so adorable!” Everyone except Akko, that is. Constanze silently fumed.

Jasminka’s black one-piece had asymmetrical cutouts on either side of her tummy drawing the eye in a zig-zag along the suit. Her hair was tied up in a single braid with a red bow instead of her normal pigtails. Jasminka eventually took mercy on Amanda and accepted her excuse for running ahead. The fivesome set about finding a spot on the beach and unpacking.

“Barbara, hurry up! I see them!” Hannah chided her girlfriend and began jogging to the rest of their friends. “Hi everyone! We thought we were going to get lost and not be able to find you!”

Hannah wore a bright yellow two-piece. The top came down to the bottom of her ribs and the bottom resembled boy shorts. The color matched the yellow bow she always had her hair tied in, but today she wore a low ponytail revealing how long her hair was. Amanda whistled at her, “You clean up nice Hannah! Didn’t think you’d be wearing something like that after hanging out with Jasminka so much lately.”

Barbara trailed behind and Amanda choked slightly, the supposedly meek blunette wore a strapless purple and white two-piece. The top looked like nothing more than a ribbon wrapped around her with white in the front and back and purple on the sides. The solid purple bottom was only slightly more substantial than Diana’s and boasted white mock pleats a few inches down her thighs.

Barbara had looked like she wanted to say something to Amanda for flirting with Hannah, but as everyone turned to stare at her she grew self-conscious and crossed one arm over her tummy and the other across to her thigh. Hannah grinned at her, “Doesn’t she look gorgeous, everyone?”

Barbara flushed at the compliment, and more so when everyone agreed. “Thank you everyone. Is Lotte here yet?” At Hannah’s intense gaze she hurriedly continued, “Or Sucy or Professor Chariot?”

“Nope! They’re the last to come,” Akko volunteered, “Lotte promised she’d be able to get Sucy out here, but I’ll wait until I see it to believe it.” Akko did not notice the suspicious figure drawing up behind her, “You know, Sucy is a lot like a mushroom herself. She likes it when it’s cold and dark.”

The figure wore a light hooded jacket with the hood drawn up and dark sunglasses and a blue one-piece swimsuit. She pulled a mushroom out of her pocket. Diana winced as she watched Sucy whack Akko across the back of the head with the mushroom, now grown to comically large proportions. Akko face-planted and started to whine, “Ack! Suuuucyyyyy.”

Sucy tucked her now normal-sized mushroom into a pocket of her hooded jacket. “I don’t really consider being compared to a mushroom an insult . . . but I could tell you meant it to be one.”

“Waaaa, Sucyyyy, you’re so meannnn.” Akko was laying it on thick, but then her eyes focused in on what she was wearing, “What! Where did you get a Japanese school swimsuit?”

Sucy’s cheeks faintly colored, but she managed to answer calmly, “Ah, I’ve been watching some anime with Constanze and it seemed like it would suit me so I ordered one.” Constanze gave Sucy a thumbs up and Sucy grinned.

“What? You guys watch anime and you didn’t ask me? I’m Japanese!”

“But then we’d feel obligated to let you watch with us. Well, Constanze would feel obligated . . . ”

“Waa! Diana! Sucy is being mean to me!” Akko sought shelter in the comforts of Diana’s collarbone. Amanda grimaced and turned to glare at Hannah and Barbara, who clasped hands and shrunk away from her.

Amanda mouthed, “We need to talk,” with a glare that could not be ignored.

Hannah and Barbara looked at each other, then back at Amanda and nodded fearfully. At that moment, a pretty blonde teenager walked up to the group.

“Hi guys,” Lotte said with a smile.

Shouts and exclamations greeted her as several of them collectively fell over in shock—even Akko, who saw Lotte without glasses every morning. Lotte replaced her normal blue headband with a Tiffany blue ribbon tied in a bow. Her one-piece swimsuit also sported a large blue bow across her chest and frills in the shape of a skirt around her waist that didn’t quite come down to cover the bottom of her suit. The suit darkened from Tiffany blue at the chest to an Olympic blue below her frills. She had a white hooded jacket unzipped like Sucy, but she was letting hers drape down on her arms so her shoulders were exposed.

Barbara gulped, “Wow, Lotte! You look beautiful! I really love your bow.” Hannah stared in horror at Lotte, possibly realizing for the first time how pretty she was. She squeezed Barbara’s hand tightly. “Ow! Hannah?”

Hannah pulled Barbara until their bodies crashed together and kissed her in front of everyone. “Heyyy, I thought you guys said not to do that in public? Fine, if that’s how it’s going to be.”

Akko started crawling over towards Diana, but Diana modestly demurred, preventing Akko from getting up. Akko clung to her legs and pouted.

“Children! What is going on here?” The normally meek Chariot found the rare semblance of a teacher inside as she joined them.

Hannah pulled away from Barbara sharply. Barbara, dazed and flushed, stepped back too quickly and jerked on Hannah’s arm. Hannah pulled her back so she wouldn’t fall and the two jostled together once more before separating. Akko turned from her position around Diana’s legs to regard the former idol.

Her mouth dropped open. Diana’s mouth already hung open. Akko pinched Diana’s legs. “Ouch! Akko!”

“Are. You. Seeing. This.”

“Yes!”

“It’s Shiny Chariot!”

“I can see that!”

“It’s Shiny Chariot in a bikini!”

“I can see that too!”

“OH MY GOD, can I get a picture?” Akko screeched before detaching from Diana and coming to sit in a seiza position before her idol.

Diana calmly walked over, blushing and blinking, unable to quite look Chariot in the eyes as she too sat beside Akko mimicking the Japanese girl’s stance. “I also, would greatly wish to have a photograph with you, Professor. If it would not be too much trouble.”

Sucy took one look at Chariot and commented, “Wow, I can see why those two turned gay if they were exposed to that as children.” The three witches in question couldn’t quite hear her comment and just figured Sucy said something rude.

Chariot stood before them in a swimsuit mock-up of her Shiny Chariot outfit. The blue miniskirt, skimpy white bikini, and white straw hat all could have looked normal by themselves, but throw in the red shawl and everyone could tell their professor missed her old costume. “You’re even prettier than you were when you were Chariot!” Akko fangirled.

Diana nodded in agreement, “She definitely did not have those measurements on our posters.”

Chariot snapped her fingers, redirecting their attention, “ONE picture, girls, and then we promise to never speak of this again!”

“YATTA!” Akko shouted.   
“YAY!” Diana shouted, then coughed, covering up her outburst, but unable to stop smiling.

Lotte was scribbling notes and whispering furiously with Barbara as they regarded the trio. Hannah stared in wonder, “Wow, I had no idea Professor Chariot was such a babe.”

Thankfully, she said it quietly enough not to catch Barbara’s attention. Jasminka, bored, calmly rooted through their bag for some chips, while Constanze played a handheld game.

Amanda stalked over to Hannah and interrupted Barbara’s conference with Lotte. “We need to talk, now.”

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The trio kept walking until their friends were specks on the horizon. Eventually, Barbara managed to summon enough courage to ask, “How long are we going to walk?”

Amanda spun to face them and they cowered in spite of themselves. They hugged each other in fear, their hands on one another’s tummies. “You need to tell them you’re not friends.”

They stopped shaking in fear and their expressions turned sad. “Oh,” Hannah said softly. “We were so embarrassed to be caught by Diana. When we tried to say we were just friends it—”

“Came out all wrong. Like we were saying we weren’t friends with Diana, but—”

“We were so embarrassed. She was a _Cavendish_ , and we were these—”

“Lesbians. What if she hated us? What if she got us kicked out of—”

“Luna Nova? What if she didn’t want to be—”

“Friends with us anymore? So—”

“We lied. We said we were a special kind of friend, special kind of super close best friends, and that what we were doing—”

“Was normal. When she accepted our story at face value—”

“We thought she was being nice. Giving us a chance to—”

“Save face. An excuse to be ourselves without having to come out.”

“We were so grateful to her then. I think I fell for her for real then,” Hannah offered.

“We didn’t just want to be the teammates of the Cavendish,” Barbara turned to Hannah and smiled.

“We wanted to be friends with Diana,” Hannah smiled fondly in return.

They turned back to Amanda, “But we didn’t know how.”

“Or even how to act the way we had been.”

“Until Akko brought her back.”

“She saved Diana, but she saved us too.”

“We had no idea that Diana believed us about—”

“Best friends. And we’ve been sick to our stomachs ever since finding out—”

“About Akko and Diana!”

Amanda looked like she was about to faint from dizziness from turning back and forth as the duo spoke, but she focused in and collected herself, “That’s why you need to tell them the truth!” At their frown, “I don’t want to force you to out yourselves, but it’s only a secret to Akko and Diana. Everyone. Literally everyone else in school knows. Even our professors.”

“What?” They shouted in unison. “Everyone?”

“Everyone.”

“But Diana . . .” Hannah began. Barbara squeezed her hand and shook her head.

Amanda nodded, “Do you really believe Diana is the type to hold being gay against you? Especially when she is one of the gayest girls we know? I mean, did you see her falling all over Professor Chariot back there?” Amanda managed to sound simultaneously fond and jealous.

“I had no idea Professor Chariot was that sexy though. Did you see her . . . ” Hannah started.

“Her what?” Barbara asked in a no-nonsense tone. “See her what? Her breasts? Her stomach? Her butt? Her legs? Her what?”

Amanda shook her head, “Yeah, all of that. She makes even someone like me feel a little put out.”

Hannah and Barbara turned to her incredulously. Surprised Amanda is even comparing herself to Chariot. Barbara offered, “Well, she was an idol after all. She had to be beautiful.”

“See, you saw her too.” Barbara sniffed in response.

“Anyway, you need to talk to Diana ASAP. As soon as possible. Those two are moving to a painful realization and the longer it goes on the worse it’s going to be for them.”

The duo’s frowns were back, “Diana would be difficult.” Barbara conceded.

Hannah nodded, “Even after everything, to tell her that we misled her.”

“Lied to her.”

Tears came to their eyes, “We fucked up.”

Amanda grew sad for them, “Yes, but you can still make it up.”

Hannah nodded, “You’re right. But—”

“Let’s try speaking with Akko first.”

Amanda agreed, “I’m OK with that. Akko would probably be easier to approach in this situation. So . . . ?”

“We’re going to come out,” Barbara offered. Hannah started crying and Barbara continued, “Everyone really knows we’re lesbians?”

Amanda nodded, crying as well for them, “All of us love you guys so much. We won’t stop being friends. I mean, we go to an all-girls school, there are tons of lesbians here, or lesbians until they go to college anyway. But even if that wasn’t the case, we all love you.”

Barbara and Hannah cried tears of relief and brought Amanda into a group hug. “Thank you so much, Amanda.” Hannah began, “I know we aren’t as close as we could be, but thank you, thank you, thank you.”

Barbara nodded into the hug, “I never thought we could be open like this. Thank you.”

“Um, guys,” Amanda began, “I’m sure you know, but, I’m a lesbian too, and you’re both in really sexy swimsuits hugging me . . . ”

Startled, they broke the hug, then the three of them began laughing. Eventually the tears and chuckles died down and it was Barbara’s turn to offer support to Amanda. She placed her hand on Amanda’s shoulder, “You really love them, don’t you?”

Amanda grinned even as the mere question caused tears to start streaming down her cheeks. Looking into the distance, she answered gruffly, “Yeah. I do.”

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The girls had taken lots of pictures and Chariot was extremely happy in spite of her embarrassment. She decided to take a walk by herself along the beach. How often do you get to visit Corsica anyway? She’d have to remember to thank Diana again.

 _Well, maybe those pictures will be thanks enough._ She laughed thinking about the effect her outfit had on her two biggest fans, _So much for thinking I was being subtle!_

She spun and allowed herself a rare moment of grace as she skipped along the coast. The crystal clear Mediterranean water lapping against the shore of the only semi-busy beach was a pleasant reflection for her mood. She allowed herself the confidence and daring she only reached for when she was in action. _I guess it’s true that clothes make the witch._ She mused.

“Chari?” The voice came from nowhere and froze her as a statue.

 _No. It can’t be._ Chariot turned to regard the one that called out her name. Where she had looked careless and somewhat frumpy the last time she had seen her, Croix was a witch transformed.

Her hair was styled and pulled over to the side like she wore it when she was teaching at Luna Nova. She was wearing lavender eyeshadow instead of her glasses and her lips had the rosy blush of a matte lipstick. Chariot’s mouth went dry at the sight of her solid black one-piece swimsuit, revealing more of her body than she had seen in over a decade. The swimsuit had a mock collar and an opening from her clavicle to her diaphragm. “Chari? I’m so glad you’re OK. When I heard about the Sorcerer’s Stone . . .” She trailed off, distracted “Sorry, but you look really hot.”

With a sob of pain and need, Chariot closed the distance between them and crushed her lips against Croix’s. Both witches saw stars as they were reunited under the Mediterranean skies.

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Later, the two witches found time to speak. They rested under a beach umbrella, Croix laying with her arms folded behind her head and Chariot resting on her side with her head propped up to regard her troubled lover.

“So you didn’t escape?”

Croix laughed, “And run first thing to one witch that could guilt trip me into turning myself in?”

Chariot traced her finger along the bottom of the opening in Croix’s suit. “Tell me what’s going on. No secrets.”

Croix smiled. “No secrets.” She said simply, “I predicted the problems with the Sorcerer’s Stones.”

Chariot frowned, “Of course you did. And you didn’t think to warn me, like maybe when I took you out of prison?”

Croix grimaced at the memory, “I was slightly off in the timing. I filed a report and marked it with the highest urgency, but I thought we had another year before magic would grow to these levels.” She said with a hint of fury, “They didn’t believe my report.”

Chariot leaned in and kissed the corner of her mouth, waiting for Croix’s mood to pass. She kissed her cheek and wove her fingers in Croix’s hair, knowing it drove her mad when she played with it after Croix had styled it—but a different kind of mad than the raw fury she felt when people didn’t acknowledge her brilliance. Croix reached up and grabbed her fingers and smiled at her, she turned away from Chariot to kiss the palm of her hand. Chariot regarded her, “I’ve missed you so much, Croix.”

“I’m lost without you, Chariot.”

Tears were never far from Chariot’s eyes when Croix was around of late, but she blinked them back, “So they’re using you.”

Croix grimaced, “You got it. I’m expendable and I’m brilliant, so they sent me out. Of course, the first thing I’m going to do is look up my number one girl.”

“I’m your only girl.”

“You are.”

“Really?” Chariot asked, “There hasn’t been anyone else?”

“No one that meant anything. It’s always been you.” Croix hesitated, “And. And you?”

Chariot gasped in surprise, “Oh, Akko!”

“What!”

Chariot covered quickly, having just realized it when the young witch came to mind, “Akko is the real reason you’re here, isn’t it?”

“Your report said that you believe she may have stabilized, but it’s just as likely that it’s a false breath.”

False breath. The gasses escaping a corpse. Leave it to Croix to be so poetic. Chariot made up her mind to tease her. “Akko kissed me.”

“You’re not going to get me on that twice,” Croix muttered.

Chariot rested her hand on the middle of Croix’s rib, under her breast. She slowly draped her leg over her ex-girlfriend. “She kissed me twice,” she whispered into Croix’s ear. “I was her first—and second—kiss.”

She nibbled on Croix’s ear as the technowitch’s mind scrambled to make sense of what she was being told. The sensations of Chariot in her arms once more was by itself enough to short-circuit her brain. She managed to mutter verbosely, “No way.”

Chariot’s giggle drove her to distraction, and Croix lifted up to kiss her and pull Chariot more on top of her. “Yes way. I actually had to give Akko detention for that, even though it wasn’t entirely her fault.”

“Pervert. Bet you enjoyed having your adoring fan locked up for detention.”

“Hey, at least I don’t invite her to my evil laboratory and knock her out while holding her.”

“That was _one time_.” Croix laughed and Chariot giggled that maddeningly lovely laugh again. _I’m so happy. To be able to joke like this again. To have her in my arms again._

Chariot leaned in, kissing her red lips sensually. “I think Akko actually slipped me a little tongue on that second kiss.”

Croix laughed again, “I bet you made her year. I can only imagine how you felt.”

Chariot stopped that line of thought, knowing it would upset Croix to think about how upset Akko’s actions would have made her. Chariot ducked down and began sucking at the base of Croix’s neck. Croix squirmed and rolled on top of the beautiful redhead. Chariot let her arms be lifted above her head and pinned to the ground. The look of submission on Chariot’s face at that moment was too much for Croix, and she descended to capture her lips once more.

Chariot allowed it for close to a minute before freeing herself and pinning Croix beneath her. She lifted up, resting her butt on Croix’s tummy, her skirt fanning out to tickle Croix’s exposed skin. “No fair, you’re too strong.” Croix looked up at her lovingly, but could tell Chariot was thinking.

“How long will you be here for?”

“I don’t know.” Croix frowned, “I have a handler. They might make me leave tonight.”

Chariot leaned down until their foreheads touched, she gazed into Croix’s eyes, “You’re on our side, right?”

Croix kissed her quick, “I’m on _your_ side. Wherever that may be.”

The moment passed. Chariot lifted her leg up and sat next to her. “We should probably be doing more than just making out like kids.”

Chariot stood and helped Croix to her feet. Their hands lingered, “Like Akko?” Croix asked teasingly, “Or like how we used to be?”

“You’d be surprised about Akko.” At Croix’s look of judgement, “No, not with me. Her and Diana are all over each other. I’m sure they’ll start dating soon.”

“Diana. There’s a witch I’d be worried about if she kissed you.” Croix tried to tease.

Chariot pretended to think about it, “Yes, I’d have to agree that you should worry. Marrying into the Cavendish family would be a dream come true.”

“Hey! _Have_ you thought about that?!”

Chariot’s giggle would be in every dream she had for a year at this point, “Who hasn’t thought about marrying into a witch family like the Cavendishes?”

“I’m going to report you to Holbrooke.”

Chariot frowned in disgust for a moment before her thoughts turned back to the girls, “I really do love them both. I think of them like daughters.” Croix laughed and it was Chariot’s turn to say, “Pervert.”

“That’s not what I was laughing about, although that is amusing too. ‘Like daughters’? You’re not old enough to be their mom. You’re more like the cool, hot aunt.”

Chariot shook her head, “Age has nothing to do with it. I would do anything for those two.”

“I guess that means I’m on their side too,” Croix said seriously.

The look of love Chariot gave her at that point was worth any future pain that might come from the declaration, especially as it was accompanied by the red-haired bombshell jumping into Croix’s arms and wrapping her arms around her neck. Croix stumbled and fell.

“Hey! I’m not as sturdy as you!” Croix muttered something about kicking a dragon.

Chariot giggled again, “It’s OK! I’ll pick you up whenever you’re down.”

“Ugh, so corny,” Croix pretended to grumble.

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“Did you get it?” Sucy asked. Constanze gave a thumbs up. “Man, I never thought we’d see something like that. I just wanted to find some barnacles. Too bad we couldn’t hear them.”

Constanze shook her head and pointed to the display, a speaker icon flashed at her. “No way!” Sucy considered, “I wonder if we could make more money selling this to Akko or Diana or one of those two lovebirds?”

Constanze shrugged, but looked overly pleased with herself. She tapped another button on the display, revealing that her Stanbots had released drones to capture the final moments between Croix and Chariot from multiple angles.

“Just having video and audio of Professor Chariot in that swimsuit would probably be priceless to Akko.”

Constanze nodded as they marched back to their friends, the barnacle search forgotten.

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Amanda ran up from the water’s edge and noticed Diana was nowhere in sight. “Where’d Diana get off to?”

Akko smiled knowingly, “I sent her off to get us some watermelons! They’re so cheap here!”

Jasminka smiled at the overly proud witch, before turning her attention back to her grilling. It was up to her to make dinner for everyone, not that she minded. Lotte lay in the shade reading with Barbara lying next to her. Hannah was doing her best to assist Jasminka, but she didn’t really need her help. Amanda stared at Barbara until the witch was shaken from her relaxation. Barbara nodded contritely at her. Amanda then turned her gaze upon Hannah. Hannah actually yelped and dropped the shish kebab she was holding. Jasminka dove in with her tongs and neatly caught the skewer before it could fall to the sand.

“Why are you picking on Hannah and Barbara, Amanda?” Akko asked.

“No reason, but I think they might want to talk to you about something? If they’re ready to.”

The two witches nodded in unison, even as they were separated by about a dozen feet. “Akko, would you mind coming with us for a little bit?” Barbara asked.

“Alright, but make sure we’re back in time for dinner!”

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“What did you two want to talk about?” Akko asked.

“Akko, we don’t really know how to say this—” Barbara began,

“So we’re just going to come out and say it.” Hannah finished.

“We’re gay.” They announced in unison.

Akko blinked. “OK?”

“OK?” They parroted.

“I mean, everyone knows you two are gay.”

“WHAT?” The two had nearly the same reaction as they did earlier in the day. Barbara started to hyperventilate and Hannah hurriedly fanned her.

“So you know we’re gay?” Hannah asked.

“Well yeah.”

“And that we’re dating?” Barbara squeaked.

“Well, if you’re not dating you’ve got some serious explaining to do,” Akko joked.

Barbara and Hannah looked sidelong at each other. “Akko,” they began in unison before Barbara finished, “About Diana.”

Instantly, Akko clammed up, realizing what the conversation was actually about and how stupid she had been to not figure it out. “I don’t think we need to talk about that.”

“What?” Hannah asked in confusion.

Barbara persisted, “You and Diana.”

“Are best friends. The bestest friends.” She said it bitterly and stubbornly.

“Oh God,” Hannah whispered.

“You knew,” Barbara finished. The duo began crying.

“Akko, we’re so sorry,” Hannah said.

“There’s nothing to be sorry for,” Akko said resolutely, “We’re best friends. That’s all. That’s all we can be.” She trailed off, “Even if Diana understood . . . ”

“Akko!” The duo pulled her into a hug and Akko couldn’t stop herself from crying.

She started arguing with herself. It sounded like one she had many times before. “I want to be friends with her. I want to be with Diana forever. She’s a Cavendish. She has expectations and needs for someone that wants to date her. I’m Japanese. There’s no way my family would accept me being gay. So I’m just not gay is the answer. Diana is my best friend is the answer. This is the best way. This is the only way I get to be with her. I’m happy.”

Akko fell to her knees and Barbara and Hannah went down with her, trying to comfort her.

“This is the best way. I’m happy. I’m happy.”

With a face full of tears, Akko managed to force a smile and whispered, “Yatta.”

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	10. Episode 03: How Akko Got Her Yay Back: Part II

“Please. Please don’t tell Diana,” Akko was begging them.

“Akko, this can’t go on forever,” Hannah reasoned.

Barbara rubbed her back, trying to soothe her.

“Just until our trip is over, that’s all I ask. Please let me be happy. Just for this trip.”

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Hannah and Barbara walked on either side of Akko on their way back, each holding a different hand. Their tears had dried, but Akko still seemed pretty unsteady and was grateful for their support. When they made it back, they saw no one else had come back yet. Lotte looked up curiously from her book, Jasminka had managed to accumulate quite a platter of meats and veggies and was busy grilling more, and Amanda sat cross-legged looking at them expectantly.

Barbara detached herself from Akko and—throwing her a reassuring look to combat Akko’s expression of despair—made her way to Amanda. Hannah squeezed Akko’s hand as she let go to put her hand around Akko’s waist. “Come on, let’s go see Lotte.”

Akko nodded, trying her hardest to pretend everything was normal. “Akko? What’s wrong?” Lotte asked sympathetically.

Akko shook her head, and together her and Hannah sat down. Hannah and Lotte set about cheering up their friend.

Amanda pressed Barbara for information, “Did you tell her?”

Barbara thought carefully before answering, “Yes, Hannah and I came out to her and told her we are dating.”

“And?”

“And she’s very happy for us.” Barbara forestalled her from responding, “We think she needs some time before confronting things with her and Diana.”

“That’s stupid,” Amanda said, distressed.

Barbara sighed, “Please don’t push them, Amanda. At least not until we’re back home at Luna Nova. We don’t need the drama.”

Amanda sighed and turned away, “It’s killing me.”

Barbara gave her a quick hug, “You’re a better person than I am.”

“Ha,” Amanda scoffed. “I’m a thief and a rebel.”

“You’re a good friend,” Barbara assured her.

Amanda regarded Akko and said, “I’m not so sure.”

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“Yatta! Isn’t this the greatest?” Akko enthusiastically asked Lotte as they walked along the beach.

“Sure Akko. Are you sure you don’t want to talk?”

“Nope! I just want to walk.”

“No you’re not sure, or no you don’t want to talk?”

“Nope! Hey, what’s that over there!” Akko took off at a sprint, managing to trip over thin air and recover by spinning around in a quick flip. She continued on her way without acknowledging the fall or the recovery.

Lotte ran up to her as she was filling out some paperwork. A group of people were all around a long table with four workers. “What’s going on, Akko?”

“Lotte! I’m signing us up right now, you’ll participate with me, won’t you?”

“Huh?”

“Say yes!” Akko asked with a smile that didn’t reach her eyes.

Lotte carefully looked her in the eyes, sensing the hurt that lingered there. “Yes.”

“Yatta!”

“What did I say yes to?”

“Beach volleyball!” Akko exclaimed. “They’re having a tournament tonight! I can’t believe they had a worker and forms in English. Isn’t this an Italian island or something?”

“I think it’s French,” Lotte said helpfully.

“Ah, well, I can only speak Japanese and English and you can only speak Finnish and English, so I’m glad they have an English speaker.”

“I also speak Swedish, Akko.”

“WHAT?!” Akko looked at her friend in surprise, “Was there a Swedish worker there?”

“Well, no.”

“Then I’m still glad they had an English one!”

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Akko skipped back to their friends, enthusiastic about her chances of winning the volleyball tournament. “Are you sure you wanted me as your partner, Akko? Wouldn’t Diana or even Amanda be a better choice?”

“Lotte! How could you say that? You’re the best choice,” Akko said sincerely, then ruined it by continuing, “After all, you were the only one with me when I went to sign up!”

Lotte dropped her head in defeat and morosely followed the skipping Akko as they finally returned; just in time for Jasminka’s completed feast. Everyone else had also come back, and Akko sat down on the sand next to Sucy, pulling Lotte down next to her. Diana stopped midstride as she had been making her way over to Akko, and confusedly looked around for a seat. Constanze waved at her and Diana returned it with a nod, sitting down between Constanze and Barbara.

Barbara leaned over and nudged Diana, “I think she had a rough day and just wanted to be with her teammates. Don’t take it personally.”

“Very well,” Diana said with a perplexed look on her face. _Wouldn’t she want to be with me more than anyone after a rough day?_

Amanda, Jasminka, and Chariot served everyone skewers, grabbed some for themselves, and sat down. Constanze looked at Sucy expectantly. Sucy did not wait long before starting in on Chariot. “So how’s Professor Croix doing?”

Chariot choked and started coughing. “Croix? What makes you ask that?”

 “Oh nothing, just Constanze and I saw you with her earlier on the beach . . . never knew you were so well versed in anatomy. I thought astronomy was your subject.” Akko had her head on a swivel, looking back and forth between her idol and her teammate.

Chariot’s cheeks colored, but thankfully she was wise enough not to take any more bites of food. Diana, however, was not so lucky, and it was her turn to start choking. Constanze patted her on the back and gestured for her to not take any more bites for a few minutes.

“I’m not sure what you thought you saw, Sucy . . . ”

At the snap of Sucy’s fingers, Constanze had her Stanbot begin projecting video and audio.

_Chariot and Croix lay on the beach, the sunset behind them._

_Swanky music began to play as Chariot leaned in close to Croix._

_Chariot kissed her._

_Then kissed her again._

_“I’ve missed you so much, Croix”_

_The close up of Chariot’s desperately longing face was mirrored by Croix’s look of intense desire._

_“I’m lost without you.”_

The Stanbot stopped projecting. Sucy hid her dismay at the editing Constanze had already done. _She even added music and a fake sunset?!_ _And all those camera angles?_

Akko stood up violently, shaking with emotion, her skewer falling to the ground, even out of reach of the watchful Jasminka. Jasminka frowned in despair at the lost food. “YOU’RE GAY?!”

The accusation startled everyone. Hannah and Barbara gulped down their food, knowing the turmoil Akko was going through; Lotte still had stars in her eyes from the yuri movie, no doubt imagining characters from Nightfall instead of their teachers; Jasminka stopped chewing for a moment to consider the situation, then went back to her food before it got cold; Constanze looked to Sucy in wonder, _is this supposed to happen?_ ; Sucy nodded in reassurance, _It’s within the realm of expectation_.

Amanda spit out her food, “You can tell from _that_ , that she’s gay?!” _But you don’t know you’re gay?!_

Akko did the only thing she could think of. She ran away.

Diana got up and ran after her.

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“Akko! Akko!” Diana’s longer legs struggled to keep up with the furiously booking witch.

“Just let me go!”

“No!” Diana shouted as she finally got within reach and reached out to grab onto her. Akko struggled and the two went down to the soft sand. Thankfully, the part of the beach they had fled to was mostly uninhabited, and the few beachgoers still there were involved enough in their own goings on that they had a moment of privacy.

Akko continued to struggle as she laid face-down in the sand and Diana merely wormed her way into a koala-hug on her back. Akko gave a few more token signs of resistance before finally slumping into the sand.

“Why did you come after me?”

“Akko. What we just watched with Professor Chariot was confusing to me, and it obviously upset you a great deal. Of course I came after you.”

“Confusing?” Akko said, her voice muffled as she refused to lift her head up.

“Seeing Shiny Chariot like that . . .” Akko could feel the heat radiating from Diana as the blonde witch recalled the scene.

Akko lifted her head, “Yeah, if I hadn’t been so surprised that would have been something else.”

Diana grinned into Akko’s back, “I cannot believe Croix and Chariot are friends like we are.”

The smile came out in Diana’s voice and struck like an arrow through Akko’s heart, she slumped down into the ground. “Ihanfbewebeou.”

“What was that?”

Akko squirmed around until her back lay on the sand and looked up into Diana’s smiling eyes. Diana let her arms loose and Akko brushed Diana’s hair out of her face. Diana frowned, “Why do you look so sad Akko?”

“I’m so happy to see you smile.”

Diana smiled even brighter at her words. Suddenly, she dipped low and kissed Akko’s cheek, before kissing the corner of Akko’s mouth, then her nose, then her other cheek, then finally directly on the lips.

Akko lay there. “Why aren’t you kissing me back?”

“I dunno.”

Diana frowned, “Do you not want me to kiss you?”

“I always want you to kiss me.”

Diana smiled again and Akko couldn’t see for the brilliance of it. Diana kissed along her jawline and moved down to her neck. Akko moaned in spite of her feelings, and Diana began nursing on the tender flesh above her collarbone.

Akko moaned again and gripped Diana into a tight hug, one hand on her back and the other laced through the blonde’s silky tresses. “Diana!” she groaned out. Diana lightly bit Akko and continued sucking, “Diana, Diana, oh Diana.”

Diana looked up through her eyelashes and paused kissing her long enough to say a word at a time, “Yes. I. Am. Diana.”

“Oh kami-sama!” Diana nipped her again and shook her head.

“No, that’s not my name.” She looked up and slowly dragged her half-naked body up Akko’s to kiss her on the lips.

Akko gave in to the kiss and pulled on Diana’s head, trying to crush her lips against hers. Akko’s tongue slipped through Diana’s parted lips and licked at her teeth. Diana groaned and returned the kiss wholeheartedly.

“A~ko,” Diana broke the kiss. “I’m burning up. I don’t know what to do!”

Akko groaned and rolled her hips, pushing the blonde witch down into the sand before resuming kissing her. “You’re so beautiful.”

Diana groaned as Akko pushed herself up to look down on at her. Diana’s eyes dropped southwards for just a moment before she gasped and turned beet red. Her hands shot up to cover her eyes and Diana shouted, “Your top!”

Alarmed, Akko shot off Diana, grabbing at her breasts to keep from exposing herself to the entire beach. Diana began pawing at the ground with one hand, covering her eyes with the other, and peeking out the entire time. Finally, she grabbed onto Akko’s bikini top and thrust it at Akko’s chest, her hand brushing lightly against Akko’s sternum before retreating to cover her eyes.

Akko grasped desperately at the lifeline and stopped suddenly. “Diana?”

“Yes! Are you decent?” She peeked out and saw Akko holding her breasts to keep them from being seen. Despite the situation, Diana screeched, “Why are you still naked?!”

“I can’t put it on without letting go!” She furiously whispered back, “Shh! Help me!”

“What? Help you?”

“It’s no big deal if you see me naked! It’s just like a public bath!”

“They don’t have public baths in England!”

“You know what I mean!” Akko couldn’t stop herself from adding, “We’re friends so nudity shouldn’t matter, right?”

Diana stopped arguing to think about the claim, “I think it might matter whether we are friends or not!”

“Do you want me to flash everyone here or do you want me to walk back naked or do you want to help me?”

“I will help you, Akko.”

“THANK YOU,” Akko said slightly loudly, before furtively looking around to look and see if anyone was paying attention to them.

“What do you want me to do?”

“Tie it in the back!” Akko pressed her bikini tightly against her chest with the straps hanging down at her sides.

Diana dove to comply, her fingers fumbling at the straps and dropping them several times. “I am sorry, Akko,” she said after dropping the right strap for the fourth time.

“Are you doing this on purpose?!” Akko asked, horrified.

“No! I cannot seem to concentrate!”

“You’re Diana flipping Cavendish!” Akko shrilled at her.

“There!” Diana said in accomplishment.

“Oh my god, I thought I was going to die.” Akko shrugged her shoulders and grabbed the top straps and laid it behind her, “Can you tie me up here, too?”

“Of course, Akko,” Diana replied cheerfully, now that the crisis had been handled. She hurriedly tied the strap behind Akko’s neck and reached around her front to tug on the bikini, making sure it covered Akko completely.

She then gave Akko’s breasts a quick squeeze to check everything was in properly—Akko seized up, squeaking out an “Eep!”

Diana recoiled, falling backwards completely to land on her butt, “I am so sorry! I was just putting it on like I do mine own!”

Akko froze, her hands hovering inches over her chest as she slowly turned her head and shoulders to look at Diana, horrified at the course of events. “Waaaa! Now I can’t get married!”

Diana finally couldn’t handle any more stimulation and fainted. “Ah! I broke Diana!”

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Akko could barely look at Diana, and Diana was in about the same boat. All nine student witches lay on the mattresses and futons strewn about the large room. In the planning of the trip, Akko had insisted that they all sleep in the same room, “So it’s like a school trip!”

She was so enthusiastic about it that everyone had gone along. Now, Akko was regretting having to be sleeping in the same room as her crush that had just . . . _squeezed_ her.

_My first time and she didn’t even think about what she was doing! I know they’re not as big as Chariot-sensei’s, but they shouldn’t just be ignored!_

Everyone else remained mostly blissfully unaware of exactly what had gone down after Diana had run after Akko, but that didn’t stop the young witches from gossiping about their professor while she slept next door in a private room.

“But seriously, Chariot and Croix? Talk about star-crossed lovers, am I right?” Amanda broached the subject.

Lotte and Barbara sighed dreamily in sync with each other, “It’s so romantic!” Lotte began.

Barbara seconded it, “It’s like in Volume 324 of Nightfall when Arthur finally reunites with Edgar after the Vampire-Werewolf War! Their embrace on page 402 had me blushing and grinning like mad for a week! You know that’s when I started shipping them like crazy. Edgar was so happy that Arthur had survived, but they still had work to do and they allowed themselves only a moment to hug it out!”

“Oh! I was thinking it was more like Volume 279 when Bella manages to return to the future and meets her former best friend, only to realize she was in love with her when she sees she’s married, then goes back in time farther than ever before to meet the ancient matriarch of her best friend’s family and falls in love with _her!_ ”

Barbara began enthusing back, but everyone else tuned out the two. “Anyway,” Hannah started, slightly embarrassed about her girlfriend’s fandom, “Chariot and Croix are a thing.”

Constanze continued to look back and forth between Barbara and Lotte before Amanda finally took pity on her and pulled the smol witch into her lap. Constanze looked surprised for just a moment before she made herself comfortable and turned her attention to the others. Sucy stared at the duo blankly, not revealing any emotions.

“Do you think,” Jasminka paused to eat a crisp, “They dated even when they attended Luna Nova? Or did they wait until they were adults?”

“Oh definitely when they were students, right Akko?” Hannah asked.

“I mean, _now_ I think that.”

“Excuse me just a moment. So everyone thinks they were a . . . couple?” Diana asked tentatively.

Hannah rushed in as Amanda opened her mouth to answer, “Professor Chariot came clean after you two left. Professor Croix and her are ex-girlfriends and she still has feelings for Croix.”

“Wow,” Diana said in wonder, “I have always heard Shiny Chariot was popular with the LGBT community, but I assumed it was said as an insult because they did not approve of her.”

“Why would that be an insult?” Hannah asked hurriedly, again cutting off Amanda from speaking. Amanda continued cuddling Constanze as a stress reliever.

Diana opened her mouth to answer; then closed it as she thought. Akko chimed in helpfully, “People suck.”

Diana nodded in agreement, “I would not have phrased it in such a way, but I agree with the sentiment, A~ko. People have a tendency of thinking that the way a person is should be considered an insult. Why, some would even hold it against a witch for not being born to a family of witches.”

Hannah held up her hands in surrender, “I guess people do suck,” she grinned at Akko, “but sometimes they get better.”

“Heh heh, are you referring to yourself or Akko?” Sucy asked.

“Myself, of course!” Hannah responded immediately.

“So Shiny Chariot is a lesbian,” Diana mused.

“Diana,” Akko began.

“Yes, A~ko?”

“What. How. Um. What do you think—about lesbians?”

Everyone went silent at the question, including Barbara and Lotte. All eyes turned to Diana. “I suppose I have never really thought about it,” Diana answered.

“You should think about it.” Amanda finally managed to get a comment in despite Hannah’s watchful gaze.

Diana inclined her head towards Amanda, “I am not someone that thinks people should be a specific way. Everyone has their own interests and desires, and if it makes them happy, so long as it does not infringe upon the safety of another, then I do not see a problem with it. Knowing Shiny Chariot is a lesbian or that you are one, Amanda, does not change my opinion of her or you in the slightest.”

Amanda’s grip on Constanze went slack, and Constanze went about lifting her arms and placing them back around her. Akko laughed, slightly pained as she pretended it was news that Amanda was a lesbian, “Wow, first Ha—hearing about Chariot-sensei, now Amanda.”

Barbara gently scolded Diana, “I believe we all knew about Amanda, but that is still not something you should do, Diana.”

“What is?”

“You shouldn’t out someone that you do not know is out,” Akko volunteered.

“But Amanda is definitely out, right?”

“Hmm. She never told me,” Jasminka said, “But I had my suspicions.”

“You sure you’re fine cuddling like that, Constanze?” Sucy asked.

Constanze nodded and Amanda finally began to snap out of it, “Oh please, there’s nothing wrong with cuddling between friends! Even _I_ agree that’s fine!” Constanze froze and Sucy caught the beginnings of a frown, but Constanze dismissed it with a shake of her head and turned around and hugged Amanda. “See! Constanze thinks so too.”

“So who do you think is the top?” Lotte asked in the silence that stretched out during the two girls’ hug.

“Lotte!” Akko laughed out, incredulous. “What kind of question is that?”

“I think that’s more of a BL thing,” Barbara volunteered.

“Definitely Croix though,” Sucy voted.

“What? No, that’s Chariot-sensei. Have you seen her fight? She’s totally the top.”

Jasminka agreed, “Chariot is impossibly strong.”

“That means a lot, coming from you,” Amanda said, “But Croix has my vote, I mean, she looks like a dominatrix half the time.”

Constanze shook her head, and had a Stanbot project an image of Chariot looking down into Croix’s eyes.

“I believe Chariot is the type to be meek and humble in her daily life,” Diana said.

“Exactly,” Hannah thought she was agreeing, “Croix would totally take control.”

Diana continued, “But when it is something she cares about, she is fiercer than even Akko.”

Barbara chuckled, “It’s not like you have to have a top and a bottom when it’s two girls though, I’m sure they go back and forth.”

Hannah began blushing and the girls around her started laughing at her discomfiture . . . SLAM! The door to their room careened open, smashing against the wall. “GO TO SLEEP!”

The glasses-less red-haired bishoujo towered over the nine teenagers. They stared up at her in astonishment. “NOW.”

Immediately, every girl in the room dove for their sheets and pillows, pulling them up and over their heads. “Honestly,” Chariot murmured, flicking the light switch off and gently shutting the door.

Croix consoled her, “Go easy on them, it’s not every day you find out your teachers are hooking up.”

“Don’t you start, we have hardly hooked u—mmph,” Chariot trailed off into a squeal as Croix kissed her soundly.

Back in their room, the nine girls lay staring at each other with their eyes wide open. “That was Croix! Did that just happen? That just happened.”

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	11. Episode 03: How Akko Got Her Yay Back: Part III

“SUPAIKU!” the shout rang out across the beach as the volleyball smashed into the ground, causing an explosion of sand to rocket up. Akko seemed to hang in the air for a moment at the apex of her jump, before coming down lightly on her feet. She ran to Lotte and tackle-hugged her. “We’re in the finals!”

Their friends watched from benches along with many other beachgoers. “She knows she doesn’t have to shout out ‘spike’ every time she spikes it, right?” Amanda asked.

Jasminka and Constanze shrugged. Amanda and Constanze had entered the contest, but were disqualified by Constanze’s use of magitech. Croix sat with them, “Does anything seem strange to you about Akko’s performance?”

Everyone reacted with surprise except for Sucy, who nodded. Everyone looked to her, “Akko’s not falling on her face every other second.”

“Ohhhh.”

“Hmm,” Croix murmured as she went to pull out her tablet. Flinching in disgust at remembering it missing, she instead reached for a small notepad and pen.

Constanze had a Stanbot ask, “Why are you so interested in Akko?”

“She completed the Grand Triskelion and it’s possible she took all of the world’s magic into herself, even if it was just for a moment. Who wouldn’t be interested?”

Jasminka accidentally ripped a board from the bench in front of her, causing everyone to stare. She flashed them a smile as she forced the board down back into place and pushed an exposed nail back in with her thumb, “As long as you’re not _too_ interested, I suppose.

Sucy covered her chuckle with her hand, and Amanda didn’t bother to cover hers. Croix blinked in surprise at the display of strength. “I’m on Akko’s side. There’s no need to worry.”

Jasminka hmmed at her declaration. Amanda patted Croix roughly on the back, jolting the older witch with each slap, “Don’t take it personally, just we haven’t exactly forgiven you for everything you’ve done.”

Croix nodded, “I would not expect you to.”

Barbara finally spoke up, “But it’s amazing how you have Professor Chariot wrapped around your finger!”

“Huh?” Croix stammered in surprise, sure she had acted normally in front of the kids that morning. “What do you mean? We were just sharing a room for convenience.”

Hannah laughed, “We heard you two out in the hallway last night after Chariot checked on us!”

She blushed lightly and focused her attention back on her notes, “How long do you suppose Akko’s been more athletic? Since she absorbed the excess magic of the Sorcerer’s Stone or earlier?”

“Oh!” Jasminka said in surprise, “The night she did that, I fought her and she did a backwards somersault to avoid the tables I threw at her.”

Hannah spit out her drink and Barbara began apologizing to the man in front of them. Hannah said, “You threw tables at her to try to stop her?! All we did is try to reason with her!”

Jasminka swallowed some food before continuing, “In light of how everything went down, reasoning probably stood the best chance of success, Hannah.”

Constanze nodded, remembering her battle with the brunette witch too. Her Stanbot spoke for her, “A witch with magic against a witch without isn’t much of a fair fight, even if it’s Jasminka.”

“Or even if it’s Constanze,” Jasminka returned with a smile.

“This next match should be interesting,” Croix began.

“‘Cuz your girlfriend is in it?” Hannah asked excitedly.

Croix coughed, not exactly comfortable with these teenagers that were no longer her students. This was too much like socializing with actual people, “Chari—Chariot I mean, is physically superb.” Amanda snorted and the rest of the girls started chuckling, “N-not like that! I mean even without magic she is a force to be reckoned with.”

“I bet you reckoned with her all night,” Barbara spoke with a twinkle in her eye.

“SHE’S A GREAT FIGHTER I MEAN!” Croix shouted.

“Akko still whupped her,” Amanda said derisively.

“I hardly believe—”

“It was completely one-sided,” Barbara said.

“Like it wasn’t even a challenge,” Jasminka agreed.

“Less effective than a fungus.”

“I think Barbara and I delayed her longer.”

“ _bzt—_ Constanze thinks Hannah and Barbara delayed her longer.”

“ENOUGH!” Croix finally shouted, throwing her hands up in the air. Everyone started laughing and Croix realized they were teasing her.

“Sheesh, can’t even poke fun at the megalomaniacal sociopath,” Sucy commented.

Croix gave her a look of consternation, “Ahem, I apologize for my outburst.”

Everyone started laughing again. Jasminka took pity on her and offered her a donut. “A donut? On the beach?” Jasminka nodded and Croix took it. “Wow! This is actually really good. You don’t happen to have any ramen candy—”

“Chariot gave us strict orders to not allow any ramen,” Hannah stopped her.

“What!”

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Once Chariot took the field, there were cries of dismay claiming someone had brought in a professional athlete. Diana had an air of superiority that she used to crush the spirits of every team they came up against. No one was surprised that these two had won through to the finals.

Their opponents on the other hand . . . Akko and Lotte were not exactly the tallest witches in the world. The fact that the two of them had won through to the finals had many watchers frustrated (other than the few that took the long odds and had bet on them). Amanda cackled with glee as her impromptu bookie business was a smashing success.

But Akko and Lotte had won, and won, and won again.

“You’re going down!” Akko shouted at her best friend and their favorite teacher.

Diana rolled her eyes and gave her an assured grin, “That remains to be seen, Akko, now are you going to serve or talk at us all day?”

“That’s it! You’re asking for it!”

“Akko! Think before—”

Akko did not wait, tossing the volleyball sky high before following after it with an impossible leap. Twisting her entire body into the serve she screamed, “Eisu!” as she made contact.

The ball rocketed in a straight line from Akko to the space between Chariot and Diana. Chariot blinked before jumping with her arm and hand outstretched to barely miss the ball. A sand geyser exploded up, showering Chariot with sand, adding insult to her missed save.

“1-0,” the referee intoned as the crowd went wild.

“She’s a monster!”  
“There’s that crazy serve again!”   
“How long do you think she can keep that up?”

Akko ran around in a circle with her arms outstretched, “Yay!”

High-fiving Lotte during one of her passes, she caught the ball and ran back to the serve line. “Akko, like we planned, remember?”

“Hai!” Akko tossed the ball up into the air again and jumped through the air after it.

“It’s like she’s flying!” came from the crowd.

“Eisu!” Akko smashed into the ball with her entire weight, but this time Chariot was ready for it. She moved into position and bent her knees perfectly to receive the ball, gently fielding it to Diana.

Diana was in the perfect position next to the net and let the ball settle into her outstretched fingers before flicking them up, springing her body in perfect synchronicity to zoom the ball into the oncoming freight train that was Chariot in the air.

Chariot came down with all the force she could muster, sending it over to the other side with a spike, but the mad libero Akko managed to fling herself across the sand to graze the ball with her fingers, sending it flying back up and into the waiting arms of the “magic setter Lotte”.

With wide-eyes unencumbered by glasses, the be-contacted blonde took in the respective positions of her teammate and their opponents. Diana looked on in awe at Akko’s save, and Chariot was still recovering from her jump. She spared a glance at the absurd Akko, who had already sprung up to her feet and was running at the net. _There!_

Launching the ball above the net in front of Diana, Akko appeared and spiked it with a trajectory that would take it over Diana’s head.

But it was not to be. The ball flattened in mid-air and went straight into the net, deflated from the power Akko—and Chariot before her—had hit it with.

“1-1,” came the call from the ref.

“Akko, what happened to our strategy?” Lotte bemoaned.

Akko grinned in apology, “Haha, sorry Lotte. I thought it would work again.”

“Just what sort of match is this?”  
“I think I remember seeing that one in the summer Olympics!”  
“Are those girls for real?”  
“Did you see that? Tell me you saw that.”  
“Are they pros?”  
“That ball must be defective.”

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Five balls later and a warning for each team to not abuse the equipment and the score was 27-28 in favor of Diana and Chariot with Diana up to serve.

Each player was dripping sweat, but Akko alone seemed unbothered with a seemingly boundless amount of energy. Although Diana and Chariot had the advantage this time, the crowd still was on the fence about who would finally take home the prize.

Lotte wiped the sweat from her burning eyes, missing the comfort of her spectacles. Akko jumped up and shouted once more, “You’re going down!”

Diana grinned and shook her head, thoroughly loving playing against Akko. “Take this!” she shouted before faking an overhead serve and aiming the ball with a pinpoint accurate underhand serve.

The amazing Akko still managed to find her way underneath for a successful dig with yet another full-body dive to the floor. Her shins, knees, elbows, and hands all bore the bruises and scrapes of the countless dives she had made, but somehow it was like she always knew where the ball was going to go. This time she only managed to rebound it directly at Lotte. Surprised, Lotte managed a receive that sent the ball far out of bounds behind them.

Akko had already recovered and was running in the direction of the ball. “Oh come on!” Chariot groaned in incredulity.

Akko dove, clearly not close enough to the ball to reach it with her dive however. In midair she spun so that her back was to the ground and the dive stretched out until she landed underneath and sent the ball back to the net.

Barely grazing the net, the ball redirected from the back end by Diana to an unsuspecting Chariot that could not recover in time.

“28-28,” even the referee sounded fatigued from calling the game at this point.

It was Lotte’s turn to serve. Akko ran back to her for a quick conference. Lotte greeted her with her hands on her thighs and bent over, “Akko, I’m not sure I have anything left in me.”

“It’s OK Lotte! I believe in you!” Akko responded confidently. “Listen, do you think you can _whisper whisper whisper_.”

“Really Akko? What if I fault?”

“Yep, really! Believe in me!”

Lotte nodded, _Well, coming all this way I’d like to win, but it’s not like anything bad will happen if we lose. I can definitely do this the way Akko wants me to . . ._

Lotte tossed the ball and jumped, making sure to hit the ball in the dead center without any spin. The ball flew up over the net and out of bounds towards the sea.

“Yes!” Diana celebrated prematurely.

A gust of air blew inland from the sea, catching the seemingly floating volleyball and pushing it just inbounds. Lotte’s mouth dropped open in surprise, “What?”

Chariot and Diana echoed her, “What?”

The referee started, “Wha—” before catching himself and calling out, “29-28.”

“Yatta!” Akko started running in circles before tackle-hugging Lotte.

“We still have one more point, Akko!”

From the crowd, a certain blunette shouted, “YAY LOTTE! That was amazing!”

“Akko, how on Earth did you know the wind would blow in like that?” Lotte asked in amazement. The referee blew his whistle and gave them a time warning, cutting off Akko’s answer.

“OK Lotte! Just hit it normal this time, I’ve got your back! We can do this!”

Lotte shook her head and focused in on the court. Paying close attention to the space between Chariot and Diana as well as Akko’s position in relation to them, she noted Chariot in the back directly across from her on the right with Diana up front on the left. Akko stayed squarely in the center of their side of the court.

Lotte breathed out, breathed in, and she tossed the ball up.

After hours of play, Lotte felt both exhausted and confident she knew what to do. As soon as the ball bounced from her hand, Akko shouted “Yay!” already guessing what was about to happen.

The ball careened to the right before curving back to the left with the spin Lotte had put on it, forcing Chariot out of position and distracting Diana. Chariot reached the ball in time, but could barely control its trajectory, forcing Diana to make the recovery. Diana jumped out of bounds after the ball and spun in midair to turn the save into a slap towards the net. She landed hard on the ground.

Chariot was there and roared with the power of her spike. Unfortunately, there was nowhere for her to go as the shorty brunette with the power of Yggdrasil had her covered. Akko’s block sent the ball straight into the sand at Chariot’s feet.

Lotte dropped to her knees, either thankful it was finally over or incredulous her serve turned out exactly the way she thought. Akko was doing her best impression of a merry-go-round running in circles shouting “yay”.

If Chariot had glasses on, they would have fallen off her crestfallen face. Diana gathered herself and slowly got up, shaking her head at the antics of Akko.

This time, Akko was too late to tackle-hug Lotte, as Barbara had already taken that right. “I can’t believe you did that! You were so hot!”

Lotte seemed to be having trouble processing what was going on, but managed to nod and mutter, “Huh? Yes, it’s very warm,” before fainting.

“Ah! You killed Lotte!” Akko shouted in dismay, finally coming to a stop from her mad sprint.

“No I didn’t! Shut up, Akko!” Barbara shouted back, feeling Lotte’s forehead. “She’s burning up though! You guys shouldn’t have been pushing yourself so hard!”

She was about to pour water on Lotte before she groggily came to, “Lotte!” Akko shouted.

From there, the medic on call took over, treating Lotte for heat exhaustion. They carried Lotte to the shade and began the cool-down process, shooing away Akko and Barbara. Akko walked away with Barbara, berating her for “killing” Lotte, not letting Barbara get a word in edgewise that the long day of playing volleyball in the sun probably had more to do with it than her.

Diana watched the two walk back to their friends pensively. Chariot laid her hand on Diana’s shoulder. “You were very good, Diana.”

“Thank you, Chariot.” Chariot nodded, and seemed unsure of what to say next. “What do you think is going on with Akko?”

“You mean with how she’s been acting with you?” Chariot offered unhelpfully.

Diana shook her head. “She is acting mostly normal with me, although she has been withdrawn since yesterday. I am speaking of her abilities during the match.”

“Ah, so you noticed,” Chariot said, “Do I seem normal to you?”

Diana started at the question, then realized the answer, “The Claiomh Solais?”

“It makes you . . . more of what you were. Stronger, faster. Even after losing it, the benefits of being its wielder remains to some extent.”

“And Akko is for all intents and purposes, still its wielder,” Diana mused. “But it is more than that. She flew—without wand, spell, or broom, she was flying across the sand today.”

“That—is unexpected,” Chariot conceded.

“Should we be concerned?”

“Let’s wait and see. We are all here for Akko if she needs us, there’s nothing that we can do simply by worrying.”

Diana smiled as she thought of Akko, “I am sure even if it is impossible, Akko would still find a way to come out on top. She is incredible.”

Chariot watched Diana’s eyes, “Is that all she is?”

“I am not sure I follow you, Professor.”

Chariot gave her a wistful smile, “Think about it, Diana. Please, for all our sakes.”

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The award ceremony was a fun time and an unsteady Lotte even managed to go up and accept their prize with Akko. The only one not having fun was Barbara, trailing after a Hannah giving her the cold shoulder.

The next few days passed quickly: fireworks on the beach; gossiping and chatting during the night; days of laying on the beach, playing in the water, and eating amazing seafood.

Croix left the first night after the volleyball match, and none of the girls passed up a chance to tease Chariot. Their jests managed to help the lonely teacher from falling too deeply into regret and longing.

Akko continued to remain distant with Diana, and by the second-to-last day of their trip, Amanda had finally had enough.

“What’s going on with you two?”

Akko looked up in surprise, “I thought we were going to make a sandcastle?”

“I want to talk about you and Diana.”

“Well, I don’t want to talk about that. I want to make a sandcastle. You’re American, I thought you’d be good at building things.”

“What the hell kind of stereotype is—no, no, no, you’re not going to distract me. What’s with you and Diana?”

“We’re friends,” Akko said simply.

Bluntly, Amanda said, “You’re sure acting like a jilted lover.”

Akko’s smile did not reach her eyes, “We’re just friends, but I’ve been thinking maybe Diana doesn’t really want to do those things. Now, are you going to help me with this sandcastle?”

“I am _not_ going to help you with your sandcastle. I _am_ going to help you with your brain.”

“My brain?”

“Yeah, it needs sorted out.”

“My brain’s fine, well, it’s probably not perfectly fine after everything Sucy’s given me, but I’m sure there’s no permanent damage . . . nothing noticeable anyway.” Akko laughed nervously.

“Stop being so evasive!”

“I’m sure if I can be so evasive there’s nothing wrong with my brain then, right? I’m sure if there’s anything wrong with anyone’s brain, it’s yours,” Akko turned it back on Amanda.

“You don’t think you’re hurting Diana by being distant?”

Akko frowned in sympathy, “I know you like Diana a lot, but . . . ”

“If you two are just friends then you should be able to do those things with me!”

“Eee?” Akko drawled out in surprise. _How did it go from me not kissing Diana to me kissing Amanda?_

“I’m saying you should be able to kiss me. I’m your friend!”

“What, no, it’s different.”

“What’s different? Don’t you love me? Aren’t we close enough? What is so different?”

“It’s just different with Diana, I can’t explain it!”

“Then why aren’t you kissing her more! If you can kiss her whenever you want, you should just kiss her! Tell her how you feel!”

“DO YOU REALLY THINK DIANA WANTS TO KISS ME?”

“EVERYONE THINKS DIANA WANTS TO KISS YOU! THAT’S WHY SHE KISSES YOU, YOU MORON!”

Akko shook her head in refusal, “You’re wrong. Diana thinks it’s normal to kiss.”

“And you don’t?!”

“Of course I do! She’s my best friend! I want to kiss her all the time!”

“YOU’RE SO FRUSTRATING!”

“You’re so . . . ” Akko couldn’t think of anything, and instead shoved Amanda backwards and ran away.

“Well, that could have went better,” Amanda said from the ground.

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 “If you two are just friends, then it shouldn’t bother you to do the same things with me,” Amanda began.

Diana returned calmly, “The difference is that you like me like a girlfriend.”

“But aren’t I your friend? Aren’t we close?”

“We are close, but Akko is my best friend.”

“That’s bullshit. It’s just an excuse! You’re lying to yourself! Lying to Akko! And even if it was true, how do you know you couldn’t be best friends with me? If you can be that close with one friend, you can be that close with another friend!”

Diana turned the logic over in her head, “I do not believe that is the case.”

“Whatever!” Amanda was about to storm off, “Wait, you don’t believe it? That means you’re not sure!”

“It is impossible to be 100% certain, yes,” Diana conceded.

“Then try it with me! Kiss me. Hug me. Hold me. Touch me.” She gulped back her fears, “Please.” _Is this really going to work?_

Diana reached up to the taller girl’s face and gently brushed her hair back, “We will try this once as an experiment.”

“Whatever, just get on with it.” Amanda closed her eyes in anticipation. _She’s going to chicken out, I’m sure of it. There’s no way she is going to kiss me. There’s no way she is going to kiss me._ Diana leaned closer and Amanda could feel her breath on her lips, but Diana stayed inches away. _Oh my God, I can’t take this anymore._ Eventually, Amanda’s eyes opened and regarded the troubled azure of Diana’s orbs. “It’s just an experiment, right?”

“That is so, but . . . ”

Amanda grabbed her, squeezing her slight frame beneath her arms as she leaned down and captured Diana’s lips for her own. Diana stopped struggling in her arms, and leaned back so that Amanda was dipping her. Amanda deepened the kiss, crying in joy and pain. _She’s letting me kiss her! I can’t believe she’s letting me kiss her!_ She began peppering kisses down Diana’s jaw to her neck.

“Please,” Diana’s voice was breathless, but clear. Amanda took it as an invitation. Amanda moved back up and began kissing her lips again. She trailed her hand down Diana’s back until she was caressing her butt. Diana groaned into the kiss and broke away, “No more.”

Amanda stared into her eyes as she slowly brought her back to vertical. They were both crying.

“I am so sorry,” Diana said. “I had no idea you loved me so much . . . That it would be so passionate . . . ” She trailed off, the coming rejection obvious.

Amanda bit back a sob, “I know what you’re going to say, so just say it. I did this so you’d wake up and know for yourself.”

“Yes, I understand.” Diana covered her mouth with her hand, trying to contain her tears enough to speak, “I am 100% certain. You are correct that I have been lying to myself. Lying to Akko. I had no idea.”

Amanda smiled through her tears, “If I had to lose you to someone . . . ”

Diana reached out and brushed Amanda’s lips with her thumb, “I will always be grateful to you for showing me this.”

“You should go to her now. Don’t wait. Let her know your feelings as soon as possible.”

“What if . . . ”

Amanda cut her off, “You have to know she feels the same way. Everyone thinks you two are crazy for each other.”

Diana smiled, “Very well! I will go. I will go find Akko right this very instant.”

“Go get her!” Amanda smiled through her tears as she watched Diana return to their rooms.

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The letter came as a shock. Lotte found it, and she hadn’t been able to stop crying long enough for anyone to understand her. Hannah found Lotte, and called everyone into their room. Eventually, Lotte managed to get someone else to notice the note on the desk. Chariot skimmed it and gasped. “It’s from Akko,” she began, reading the note aloud:

_Hi Everyone!_

_I decided to leave for home a little early. The truth is, I’m actually way more of a coward than you might think, and I just don’t think I can do this face-to-face after all._

_I’m not coming back. Sorry._

_Every one of you is so precious to me._

_Ursula-sensei—just this once: Chariot-sensei! You’ve inspired me in countless ways and in many ways, because of you, I’ve already accomplished my dream of showing the entire world how wonderful magic can be. We made the entire world smile! Yay! I will be forever grateful to you. The fact that I got to be taught magic by you still amazes me._

_Croix-sensei, I know you’re not my sensei any more, but I really value everything you’ve taught me. More importantly, I value how happy Ursula-sensei looks when you are near (now that you’re totally not evil and doing bad things anymore anyway)._

_Constanze, even though you don’t say much (or anything really), your support means so much to me. I know I can always count on your heart as much as I can count on your tech! I’ll miss cuddling you!_

_Jasminka, your cheerful attitude keeps me going more than you know! And I’ll always cherish our midnight snacks together._

_Hannah and Barbara, I know we did not start on the right foot and you always looked down on me, but now that we are friends I am only sorry that it took us so long to get started! Hannah, your caring heart helps Diana more than she’ll ever admit. Thank you. Barbara, your affection and love is felt by all of us and if it wasn’t for you, I would have never been able to become friends with Diana because her heart would have been closed. Never doubt that you two are her friend. I wish I could have a relationship like you two have with each other._

_Amanda. You have shown me so much. I know your family puts a lot of pressure on you, but you are your own witch. I wish nothing but happiness for you._

_Sucy, I think I will actually miss being your guinea pig! Whenever the going got tough, I knew I could rely on you, and when the going wasn’t tough, dealing with you could be a lot of fun. Sometimes anyway—when I wasn’t fearing for my own life. Because of you, I got to kiss Chariot! Yay!_

_Lotte, know that I will always be your friend. You support me even when I’m in the wrong, but you always stay true to yourself and let me know. I’ve grown so much because of you. I’m so happy you supported me even in my selfish desire to play volleyball and forget myself here._

_Everyone, I love you so much._

_Sayonara! I hope we meet again!_

Lotte had started sobbing harder when Chariot read her part. Diana stood ashen-faced and looked to Amanda. Amanda shook her head in pain and ran out of the room. Everyone stood in a state of shock and despair.

Diana collapsed.

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	12. Episode 04: Reason and Feeling: Part I

“Mom, Dad, I’m a lesbian.”

Akko stared in the tiny mirror of the airplane bathroom. She adopted a goofy smile, “Heya parentals! I’m gay!”

She shook her head and started again, “Mom, Dad,” she started crying, “I’m so sorry!”

The knock on the door jolted her from her tears. Hurriedly, she composed herself, and exited the bathroom to let the waiting passenger in. With a huff, the woman pushed past her, shoving the slight witch to the side. Akko roughly caught the back of the back row of seats. A flight attendant smiled at her, “Are you OK?” she mouthed.

Akko nodded, and began working her way up the plane. Not noticing the young strawberry blonde girl sitting in the seat she had grabbed. “Mommy, that’s her!”

“Who’s her, hun?”

“That’s her! The witch! The one on TV!”

Akko slid into her seat, diagonally across from the pair a few rows ahead. Lost in thought, she didn’t hear any of the commotion. “Honey, why would she be on a plane? I’m sure she can fly on her broomstick if she was really a witch.”

“That’s her! Mommy!”

“Adella, put your seatbelt on!”

“HI.” The blonde munchkin caught Akko by surprise.

“Ack!”

“Are you a witch?”

Akko managed to hide her reaction to that one, “Sort of.”

“Aren’t you the witch that saved the world?”

Akko coughed, “It wasn’t quite the world, but it sure seemed like it was at the time.”

“Oh my God! You are her!” The mother had finally managed to detach her seat belt and come up to gather her lost child.

Akko tried to smile at the woman, a slightly overweight brunette with bangs. She looked closer at the child, thinking she wouldn’t be surprised if she turned into a bishoujo like Chariot. “Hello. I’m Akko.”

“You saved us!” The woman was overcome.

“Eee?” Akko asked.

“Mommy! A witch!”

“We were in the capitol of that country. We would have been at ground zero. You and your friend saved us.”

Akko couldn’t help but smile at the thought of her actions with Diana, but her eyes grew watery.

“I’m sorry, but would it be too forward to ask to hug you?”

“Hug!” the child parroted.

Akko forced her smile a little more and nodded an assent. The woman enveloped her and for the first time in a long time, Akko felt the warmth and weight of a mother’s arms.

The kid wormed her way into the hug also. Despite herself, Akko began to cry. “I’m sorry, I don’t mean to.”

“It’s OK! I’m so sorry we bothered you, dear.”

“You aren’t bothering me. I’m just being emotional. It feels like forever since I hugged my mom and you just reminded me of her.” _Never mind that I might never be hugged by Mom again once she finds out I’m gay._

“Oh honey! You’re a hero! You can be emotional whenever you want. My little Adella wants to grow up to be a witch just like you!”

Akko managed a real smile, and turned her attention on Adella, “That’s amazing! Always remember, a believing heart is your magic!”

“A believing heart!” Adella repeated.

“That’s right!”

“I can do magic!” she announced.

“Wow! Really? You’re ahead of me when I was your age then!” Akko enthused.

“But-but, it doesn’t always work!”

“Dear, we talked about this. It’s only in certain areas that you can try to learn magic.”

“That’s right! There’s more magic than ever before, but there are still plenty of areas where it doesn’t reach, but do you want to know a secret?” Akko asked her conspiratorially.

“Yes!”

“I can do magic anywhere,” she said with a wink and a smile.

“Really? Wow!”

“Yep! I just have to believe, and I can do magic anywhere in the world.”

“I want to see!”

“Well, alright then! Prepare for my best spell!” Akko enthused.

She gathered her thoughts and breathed out; forcing her eyes shut so no one would see any tears, Akko thought, _Diana_ , before calling out, “Metamorphie Faciesse!”

Suddenly, a small, fat, blue penguin stood on Akko’s seat. “A PENGUIN?!” Adella screamed, rushing to pet the snow bird.

“That is simply incredible!” By now, the entire cabin had been distracted by the trio. Akko popped into her mouse form, and ran up Adella’s arm to perch on her head.

“I have a witch on my head!” Adella screamed in pleasure. “Mommy! I have a witch on my head!”

The rest of the ride passed by in a blur. Other passengers came up, offering their own thanks and praise for her actions with Diana in the missile crisis. Akko did her best to greet and thank every single one of them, happy to have something to think about besides Diana and besides her parents.

Akko walked from baggage claim to find her parents, passing by Adella and her mother without them noticing. “So what was it like for you to meet the great witch?”

“Mommy, she was so amazing! But she was so sad!”

Akko picked up her steps, double-timing it away before she broke down in the middle of the airport. When she finally saw her mom waiting for her, she ran into her arms, hiding her sadness with tears of joy for seeing her mom and being able to hug her again.

_I have to be strong. I have to tell mom and dad I’m not normal._

“I’m so glad you made it home for the festival, Akko! Come on, your dad is waiting in the car outside.”

“Dad’s here?” Akko gulped, “You drove?”

“We didn’t want the celebrity witch to have to go on the train! You remember what it was like when you came home between semesters!”

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“Mmm! It feels so good to be home! Yay!” Akko enthused, stretching her arms as she came in the doorway.

“Akko! Your shoes!” Her mother gently chided her. “Honestly, one year abroad and you’ve lost all sense.”

“Come on, it’s not the end of the world to not take off your shoes.”

“Don’t spoil her just because she’s been away. She’s only been gone a couple months this time!”

“Yes, dear.”

Akko ran around the kitchen, gushing over every change. Her mother stopped her with a single no-nonsense look, “When are you going to spill whatever’s on your mind?”

Akko laughed nervously, looking from her mother to father. Her mother’s hair was pulled back in a ponytail; her cheerful smile somehow seemed bullying. Her father was surprisingly square-jawed and handsome, but still managed to effect the look of a normal Japanese businessman. “How could you tell?”

“Honestly, Akko. Last time you came home you could not stop talking about Diana and your other friends at Luna Nova. This time, you’ve barely spoken about anything other than what’s going on here.”

“It’s kinda’ major.”

“Isn’t everything with you, kiddo?” her father asked.

“I-um-I don’t know how to say this.” Akko looked at them in a blind panic, “How about some tea!”

Her mom fell over in surprise, “AKKO!”

“OK OK! But you two should totally sit down!”

After herding her parents into seats around the kitchen table, Akko paused dramatically. “Just say it already Akko,” her father commanded.

“Mom, Dad, I . . . ” Akko changed midsentence, “Do you think I could go to school here?”

“Here?” her father asked confusedly.

“Move home and go to school here.”

“Nope. Not an option, we’re shipping you back to Luna Nova whether you like it or not.” Her mother replied.

“WHAT! That’s totally not fair! You said you wanted me to come home to stay! I can’t go back!”

“And why is that, dear? Think you’re finally ready to tell us?”

“I’m gay!”

Her mother sat there with a smirk on her face. Her father stood up stoically, and reached for his wallet. He deposited a 1000-yen note in front of his wife and walked over to Akko. Laying his hand on her shoulder, he nodded once, before leaving.

“WHAT WAS THAT! WHY DID HE LEAVE?”

“Oh hush dear, he’s just sulking because I won our bet. He was holding out hopes you were at least bi.”

“WHAT?!” Her screech could be heard throughout the neighborhood.

Akko’s mother nodded gently, “Really, Akko? We’ve known you liked girls practically your entire life. I mean, have you ever looked at our bookshelf?”

“Why would I look at your books?” Akko asked, like it was the last thing on earth she wanted to do. She took the time now to glance over, noticing the first book was a pamphlet, _Your Daughter is a Witch, Now What?_

After that though, there were a wide range of books. The first must have been by the same company as the witch pamphlet, as it was titled, _Your Daughter is a Lesbian, Now What?_ After that, there were books like  Always My Child, This is a Book for Parents of Gay Kids, and The ABC’s of LGBT+.

“How did you know?”

“Well, you really liked Shiny Chariot,” her mother replied as though that explained everything.

“I was just a kid!”

“Well, yes, at first you were. But then when you were 12 you put that poster of her up right above your bed.”

“MOM!”

“I’m just saying we knew you were thinking about her at night.”

“I was dreaming of doing magic with her!”

“You may have been dreaming of doing something with her sweetheart, and I’m sure it was magical.”

“MOM!”

“Then you went to an all-girls school and your father despaired. He thought that would be the last straw.”

“That’s not how being gay works! That might be like that for bisexual people, I don’t know! But I would have been this way no matter where I was in the world or with who!”

“I tried to explain that to him, dear. But he kept pointing to those posters of Shiny Chariot in your room and how pretty she is and how no straight girl could possibly stay straight being around witches that look like her.”

“MOM!”

“To be fair honey, I wasn’t exactly the straightest arrow in college, myself, so your poor dad might have a bit of a complex.”

“MOM! I CAN’T EVEN!”

“There’s nothing wrong with being bisexual either, honey. Oh! Do you think you may be bi?”

“Oh my God, what was I worried about?” Akko stalked over to a kitchen chair and slumped down.

ФЖФЖФЖФЖФЖФЖФЖФЖФ

_So what is this?_ Diana thought to herself from her airplane seat. _I know I am not gay. Is that why it took me so long to realize my feelings for Akko?_

_Akko is a singularity. She is not like a woman to me, she is just . . . Akko. I am in love with Akko._

She knew she was in love with Akko, but something still didn’t feel right. She thought back to her kiss with Amanda, and her lingering attraction for Shiny Chariot. The flush of heat to her face forced her to face the truth, _So I like girls as well. I am . . . bisexual? And I didn’t know until now?_

She slowly sipped the cold tea offered on the airline. _American tea is so unsatisfying._

Hannah and Barbara had filled in the missing pieces for her—both about their relationship and Akko’s feelings. _This entire time, Akko’s had feelings for me and I’ve been-what? Toying with her? How could I be that dense?_

“I assure you, I do not need anything.” Diana looked up for what seemed like the tenth time at the flight attendant.

“Miss, you have been crying the entire flight. The other passengers are concerned.”

“I am perfectly fine. I apologize for disturbing—” a sudden gasp stole the lie from her lips, she couldn’t speak for the sobs.

The flight attendant slid into the empty seat next to Diana, “There, there. It’s going to be alright. First time flying alone?”

Diana couldn’t respond, couldn’t speak; she did her utmost to stifle the sobs, but her body shook in the arms of the kind attendant.

ФЖФЖФЖФЖФЖФЖФЖФЖФ

“Oh! Wait here, I have something to show you!” Akko’s mother ran to her room and back in record time, “Look at this!”

She held up a shirt, “I ♥ My Lesbian Daughter.” The heart was rainbow colored.

“I can’t wait to wear this now!”

“You can’t wear that!”

“But I rainbow heart you!”

“You can’t tell people! If I’m going to be out I don’t want you and Dad to have to be punished for that!”

“But dear, you’re missing the point here. I rainbow heart you.”

“I KNOW you rainbow heart me Mom, I flipping love you too, but you can’t let other people know! You know what they’re like!”

“Oh, the neighbors all have been taking bets on when you’d come out.”

“WHAT?!”

“You did like Shiny Chariot _quite_ a lot, dear.”

“OHMIGOD.”

“I’m not going to say I didn’t feel anything seeing her posters myself.”

“I’M NOT HEARING THIS.”

“Sometimes it helped things along with your father if I’d go into your room and admire them a little before, well you get the idea dear.”

“I AM DYING. I am _literally_ dying. You are killing me.”

“It probably didn’t help things with your father when I accidentally said her name that one time.” Her mother fondly reminisced.

“SHE’S MY TEACHER NOW!”

“WHAT?!” For once in the last hour of embarrassment for Akko, her mother’s attention was solely on her daughter.

“Shiny Chariot is my teacher now at Luna Nova!”

“Is THAT why you wanted to go there?!”

“I wanted to go there because she went there! I didn’t know she’d be my teacher!”

“Will you introduce me?!”

“OHMIGOD NO! NOT NOW!”

“Don’t act like you don’t look at her posters too!”

“NOT LIKE THAT!”

“AKKO. I might tolerate a lot of things from you, pretending you’re going to quit school and coming home in such a sulk, but I will _not_ tolerate a liar.”

“FINE!”

“Fine what?”

“FINE! I MASTURBATED TO MY SHINY CHARIOT POSTERS WHEN I WAS YOUNGER! IS THAT WHAT YOU WANTED TO HEAR? ARE YOU HAPPY NOW?”

The thud of her father fainting to the floor startled both of them. He had just walked back into the house to be greeted with that proclamation. “Mom! I broke Dad!”

“Oh he’ll be fine dear. He’s probably just overworked from having to go announce to everyone in the neighborhood how gay you are so we can start collecting our winnings.”

“Winnings?”

“I knew you wouldn’t be able to make it another year at Luna Nova without coming out, dear. I just had a feeling. I bet big! Of course, your father still was foolishly betting you were bi so that will mitigate just how much we make. I mean, you’ve never even looked at a boy.”

“MOM!”

ФЖФЖФЖФЖФЖФЖФЖФЖФ

Diana had cried her weight in tears, and even now as she walked through the airport, tears fell from her eyes without pause. “I am so stupid. So stupid.”

As she reached the line for taxis outside the airport, she realized she had no idea what Akko’s address was. Blinking back her tears, she set herself to the task. _The leylines are weak here, but there is enough magic for emergencies. I will search every house in Japan if it means finding Akko again._

Perfectly aware she wasn’t being reasonable, Diana took the next taxi.

ФЖФЖФЖФЖФЖФЖФЖФЖФ

After her father had recovered, they resumed their family meeting in the living room this time. Akko asked worriedly, “Do you hate me now, Dad?”

Confused, he returned, “Why would I hate you?”

“You left as soon as I told you I was gay!”

“I was so excited to tell everyone you had finally come out! I patted you on the shoulder and nodded in acceptance at you before I left! All our neighbors were ragging on us after you were on TV with that girl. I had to shut them up. Look at this!” He unbuttoned his dress shirt to reveal his own, “I ♥ My Lesbian Daughter” shirt on underneath.

“Honey! You bought one too!” His wife shoved him.

“I wasn’t going to let you hog all the bragging, Atsumi!” he playfully shoved her back. “We both rainbow heart our lesbian daughter!”

Akko threw her hands up in consternation.

“So is Diana the reason why you started spouting this nonsense about coming home to stay?” Atsumi asked her daughter.

“I mean, she’s part of it,” Akko said noncommittally.

“Did you two break up?” her father asked.

“DAD!”

Her mother fielded that one, “Well, we did see you stop a war flying on the edge of space hand-in-hand with her dear. One gets to thinking . . . ”

Akko couldn’t stop the tears, “It’s been really crazy, Mommy.”

Atsumi enfolded Akko in her arms, “We believe in you, Akko. You can do anything.”

“That’s the problem,” Akko said from the depths of her embrace.

“What do you mean?” her father asked.

“After the missile crisis, I started changing. My magic went away and now it’s come back stronger than ever. Ursula-sensei thought it could be killing me.”

“Callistis-sensei did write to us that your magic was out of control, but the last we heard you were all better.”

“Ursula-sensei writes to you?” Akko dismissed that line of thought for now to focus on her magic, “It feels funny.”

“What does it feel like?”

Akko thought for a moment before replying, “Like I’m drowning.”

ФЖФЖФЖФЖФЖФЖФЖФЖФ

Diana sat on the lonely swing set, her carryon luggage beside her. “What will I do if I can’t get her to come back with me? If she doesn’t believe me that I love her? If she doesn’t believe me . . . ”

ФЖФЖФЖФЖФЖФЖФЖФЖФ

Some time later, Atsumi brought the conversation back to Diana. “Why did you give up on Diana so easily?”

“She kissed someone else.”

“That’s pretty major. What did she have to say for herself when you talked to her about it?” her mother coaxed her.

“Um, Isortofranawaywithouttalkingaboutit.”

“What was that?” her father asked.

“I ran away without talking about it!”

“That’s reasonable, dear.”

ФЖФЖФЖФЖФЖФЖФЖФЖФ

“Alright everyone!” Hannah took over as the de facto leader with Akko and Diana MIA and Amanda still recovering, “We’re now launching Operation Bring Akko and Diana Back and Get Them to Stop Being Such Idiots and Finally Start Dating!”

“Yeah!” the girls cheered with the exception of Sucy, Amanda, Constanze, and Chariot.

“I still think I shouldn’t go,” Amanda said.

“Not happening, we’re all in this together,” Barbara smiled at her. Jasminka squeezed her hand in support.

“That name is a little too long. It doesn’t even have a good acronym. I appreciate calling Diana and Akko idiots, but . . . ” Sucy started.

“Noted and dismissed!” Hannah cut her off. Barbara nodded in agreement. “Look out Japan! Here we come!”

ФЖФЖФЖФЖФЖФЖФЖФЖФ


	13. Episode 04: Reason and Feeling: Part II

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the delay. Right after I got home I ended up on some makeshift scaffolding that broke and dumped me to the ground (and with no Akko or Diana to catch me in midair at that!). This is the first time I can sit at my desk to write since I’ve been home.
> 
> You can expect me to be back to semi-regular updates from here on out, even though school starts tomorrow XD
> 
> Wow! The response to the last chapter was amazing! Thank you so much!
> 
> Whenever the people around understand what’s being said, I’m just having it written in English. I’m trying to do a little more of a literal translation for when Diana is speaking/listening in Japanese (since as Akko has teased her, her Japanese is not quite as good as some of the other languages she speaks).  This means that when Japanese people are speaking about not being gay, it gets translated as “normal”. It’s a quirk of the language. Of course, I’m pretty rusty on my Japanese, so please forgive any inconsistencies!
> 
> This episode is starting to get bigger and bigger! Moving towards a mid-cour climax instead of an end-of-cour climax!

 

Our Magic!  
Episode 04: Reason and Feeling  
Part II

“So have you called your friends yet to tell them not to worry?” Atsumi cornered her daughter later that night.

“Ahaha, the time change would be in the middle of the night for them right now, it’s not a good time.”

“Akko! We are _ahead_ of England. Call the school right this very instant!”

“I kind’ve left on awkward terms,” Akko pleaded.

“Sounds like a good time to un-awkward those terms, dear daughter.”

Akko sighed heavily, “Fiiiine.”

Atsumi watched as she dialed long-distance to England, always finding the animated face of her daughter to be amusing to watch. When Akko’s face fell and she hung up shortly after, she asked, “What’s the matter?”

“None of them are there! Not even Ursula-sensei!”

“Well, it is summer. I’m sure some of them had other things to do and others went to their own homes. Only a handful of the girls actually live in England, right? Like that certain someone you have a crush on?”

“Moooooom! I thought you were going to stop nagging me about Diana!”

“Whatever gave you that idea?” Akko ran out of the room, followed by her mother asking, “And don’t you mean Diana-chaaaan?”

ФЖФЖФЖФЖФЖФЖФЖФЖФ

“What?” the red-haired sensei asked with her usual disarray.

“You’re the logical choice. None of us speak Japanese,” Hannah coaxed her.

Constanze held up a sign saying, “I speak Japanese.”

Hannah read it and turned back to Chariot, “Like I said, you’re the logical choice.”

Constanze fumed, balling her fists tightly, then nodded in acceptance. Sucy shook a potion at her in a silent question, but Constanze refused with her hands held up. Sucy looked away, thinking about who she should try her potion out on if not Hannah.

“Why don’t we all go together?”

Lotte nodded, “I want to see Akko.”

Barbara denied it, “Chariot is the logical choice. We don’t want to overwhelm her with all of us. We will have time to see her now that we’re all in Japan, it should just be Chariot that goes to her house first.”

Sucy backed up Lotte, “Then why not let Lotte go with Chariot?”

“Why have we decided I’m going for sure?”

“You’re the only one that speaks Japanese!” Amanda shouted, “Don’t you want to see Akko?”

Chariot frowned and looked away, “I do. It’s just—”

Jasminka offered her a cookie as she paused, but Chariot held her hand up in refusal, unknowingly mimicking Constanze from a moment before. “Akko’s parents don’t know what I did to her!”

Sucy came to it in an instant, “Ah. That explains it.” Everyone else took a moment to recall Chariot stealing Akko’s magic.

“We don’t have time for this!” Lotte says in rare fury, “Professor Chariot and I will go to Akko’s house and beg her to come back. The rest of you think of how we’re going to convince her!”

“What about the language issue?” Barbara asked her gently.

“I’ll ask a sprite for help!” Barbara nodded in acceptance.

Hannah looked askance at Barbara, “Ohhhh-kayyyy. So we’ll brainstorm ways to bring Akko back.”

“I still say we should just drug her and drag her back.”

“Sucy! We already vetoed that!” Lotte said in exasperation.

“I was in favor of it,” Amanda offered.

“We’re not counting your vote until you recover,” Jasminka spoke up, “I’m against any food and drink that has negative effects.”

“You’ll just never get me, Jasminka,” Sucy lamented.

“Are you saying you don’t want me making snacks for your movie nights with Constanze anymore?”

“I’m saying you definitely get me, Jasminka. 100%.”

Jasminka smiled while Lotte looked on with growing fury. “Enough of this! We’re going now. Chariot!”

“Very well,” Chariot said in resignation. “I can’t keep putting this off.”

Lotte grabbed her hand and started pulling her in the direction of Akko’s house. She turned to look back at Barbara, “And try to reach Diana. We still don’t know where she is.”

ФЖФЖФЖФЖФЖФЖФЖФЖФ

“Shitsurei shimasu,” the gentle intrusion startled Diana from her brooding, “Kimi wa ano majou desu ka?”

She looked up to regard the group of Japanese schoolgirls in sailor uniforms and stared at them while she started to process their words. There was a brunette with twin tails down to her waist, a raven-haired girl with her hair in a short side-tail, a girl with a pixie-cut with chestnut colored hair that was wearing pants instead of the skirts the other girls were wearing, another brunette with her hair down to the middle of her back, and a very tanned girl with dyed blonde hair.

 _What did they say?_ _I’m rude? Kimi? Isn’t that only used by men to women? Witch? Are you that witch?_

Diana opened her mouth to speak back in Japanese, “I am a witch, but which witch do you mean?”

“Akko’s friend! We knew you must be!” excited, twin-tails and the blonde sat down next to her on the bench while the remaining three crowded around. “You are that witch! That witch that saved the sekai with Akko!”

Diana was slow to respond, taking time to parse the language. In their excitement, the girls had started to speak more rapidly and she was finding it hard to keep up. She completely ignored the asides they chirped to each other, having no hope of understanding, “I like Akko, but I am not sure we are friends anymore. We worked together to stop the missile. Sekai?”

“Sekai!” The cheerful twin-tails on her right answered, she made the shape of a ball with her hands.

 _What ball would I have saved with Akko? Why have I not been studying Japanese when Akko is Japanese! Did I not always want to come here with her?!_ She frowned in thought, _Of course, I thought I would be coming here_ with _her, not chasing her like some fool._

At her frown, the blonde turned to the girl with the pixie cut and motioned her to intervene. She rolled her eyes at their antics and asked, “Is your hair naturally that color? It really suits the color of your eyes.”

 _Is she flirting with me?! Is she what you call an ojou-sama?_ _Wait, they said “Akko”. Does that mean they know Akko?_ “A~ko!”

The girls looked to each other, sure the crazy foreign witch had lost it not responding to the flirtations of pants-girl. The pants-girl in question hung her head and muttered, “Akko to onaji.”

“Do you know where Akko is?” Diana asked them desperately.

Surprised, they looked to each other in confirmation, side-ponytail girl responded for them, “Luna Nova, in Igirisu.”

“No! She’s here in Japan! She left Luna Nova. I’m here to bring her back!” Diana exclaimed. Continuing sadly, “Or at least to apologize.”

The blonde girl laid her hand on Diana’s forearm, somehow intuiting the truth, “When you said you like Akko, how would you say it in English?”

Diana thought for a moment, playing the conversation back in her mind, flushing at the thought of her saying she liked Akko. She had not even realized she did that. In Japanese, she had used “suki” which could be misinterpreted in about as many ways as the word “like” could in English. This was why so many children would say things such as “do you _like_ like her?”

“I am in love with Akko,” Diana said in English.

The brunette’s eyes widened the most out of the group, “Rabu? But she’s a girl, you know!”

Pixie-cut shot the brunette a raised eyebrow, “Really?”

“You know what I mean! Akko’s normal, isn’t she?”

The tanned blonde answered, “Well, she did like that Shiny Chariot quite a lot.”

“Oh yeah! How could I forget, but then why did she turn you down, Megumi?”

ФЖФЖФЖФЖФЖФЖФЖФЖФ

“How are you going to get a sprite to help you translate Japanese? I know of no sprite magic that would accomplish such a thing.” Chariot was being pulled by Lotte as they marched ceaselessly towards Akko’s residence.

“I’ll incarnate a local sprite. So long as they live here, they should speak Japanese.”

“Whaaaaat? _Incarnate!_ You say that like it’s easy!”

Lotte shook her head, “We don’t have time for anything else. Sprites like me, I’m sure I can do it.”

Chariot’s eyes widen even further, “Seriously? That’s the entirety of the explanation you’re going to give? Will you have enough magic to even contact one?”

“We’ll stop at a shrine along the way. The Japanese leylines are small, but well-defined and interlace throughout the country. Most of them pass through shrines.”

“How do you know so much about Japanese leylines?”

“I do live with a Japanese witch,” Lotte said seriously.

“And where is the shrine you’d like to stop by?”

Lotte stopped suddenly. “Oh.”

Chariot smiled, “We know how to get to Akko’s, but we don’t know where anything else is. Let’s ask for directions before we go any further. I know you want to get to Akko’s as quickly as possible, but we need to do this correctly.”

ФЖФЖФЖФЖФЖФЖФЖФЖФ

Croix knew the power of dark emotions, but that did not prepare her for finding Balto ripped apart. The heavy weight of dark magic lingered over everything in the room, gagging Croix on its pervasive stench.

A wizard she only spoke to for the brief moments it took to pass on her reports and listen to any requests; she had no feelings for him one way or another. It did not stop her stomach from turning at the site of his body.

Fear, confusion, anger, pain, and a gut-twisting sense of relief assailed her. Croix stared at her haggard face in the mirror, “Really, relief? Only you could be so sick.”

She scrunched her eyes closed and retreated inward, finding an icy calm in her center. Opening her eyes, she surveyed the scene objectively.

The slowly thawing chunks of human flesh that were the wizard’s limbs thankfully did not smell yet, but the viscera that had been pulled forth from the body formed a nauseating cat’s cradle about what remained of his torso. The heart had exploded from the inside, acting like a grenade against his ribs.

_Magic did this. There’s no way they don’t blame me for this. I could hide, I know how to hide. They’d never find me._

_Stop it. I chose prison. I have sins to atone for._

_I’m not going to prison for someone else’s sins though, because fuck that._

_If they’re targeting me, it can only mean they’re going after Akko._

_I have to warn Chari. I don’t have time to explain nor can I take the chance it wouldn’t get to her. I can do this._ “I can do this.”

Croix gathered what tools and items of Balto’s she thought might be useful and stormed from the room. She did not notice the three witches smiling at her departure.

“I told you she’d be a great recruit.”

“It’s a shame she’s become so insane though.”

“Let us feast on these remains sisters.”

“Fool, we need the body . . . but I’ll allow that the guts and limbs are not necessary.”

ФЖФЖФЖФЖФЖФЖФЖФЖФ

“I have a bad feeling about this, Lotte.”

“Please be quiet, it may not look like it, but this is actually very difficult.”

Lotte knelt in seiza before the shrine. Her eyes were closed as she reached out with her magical senses to feel and call to the spirits all around. Chariot hovered behind her shoulder, looking on worryingly.

Slowly, spirits began to come out and sit, watching them curiously. Long minutes passed. Chariot wanted to say something, but she wasn’t exactly in a hurry to get to Akko’s anyway, so she sighed and returned the stares of the growing number of spirits. Finally, they were completely encircled and Lotte opened her eyes. Shocked, she almost fell over, but Chariot caught her. “Why are you shocked?”

“It’s just, there’s an awful lot of them, isn’t there?”

“You tell me, you are apparently the sprite expert.”

Some were more humanoid than others, but the majority of the sprites resembled nothing more than glowing balls. The largest came up to Lotte’s waist, and this is the one that rolled forward. In the sprite language, the slime and Lotte spoke back and forth—melodious and beautiful, but impossible for Chariot to understand.

Finally, they seemed to come to some accord. The slime rolled back. “What’s going on?”

“We reached an agreement. The elder will allow me to incarnate one of the sprites as long as I stay in Japan.”

“Wow! That’s amazing!”

“It was made more difficult by you thinking of them as slimes.”

“Huh? Oh? They could tell? It’s just we’re in Japan and there’s a video game here . . . ”

“You don’t have to explain. I am roommates with Sucy and Akko. Both of them have made the comparison before.”

The spirits began to retreat back into the ether and the shrine until one yellow humanoid remained. It had the slime at the back of its head done up in large spikes and Chariot thought it looked ready to shout at any time. _First Dragon Quest, now Dragon Ball? I feel like I am being extremely rude._

“You are being extremely rude!” The spirit spoke in Japanese.

Chariot’s glasses fell down her face in shock, “I’m so sorry! It’s just hard not to think of those things since we’re in Japan!”

“Dragon Ball is an extremely awesome show full of manly men demonstrating their power!”

“It’s on purpose?!” Chariot didn’t think she could be more shocked.

“I can appear however I like, why not in this form of the strongest character my people have dreamt up of?”

“Are you serious?”

“Enough of this!” Lotte shouted, “I can’t understand what you’re saying until the ceremony is complete. We need to complete the ceremony and BRING. AKKO. BACK.”

“Yes, young one. The Elder thought your passion might suit me. Your impatience and fury are a delight,” the sprite said in Japanese.

“Um, Lotte. I’m having second thoughts about this . . . ”

But Lotte had already held out her hands. The sprite leapt, doing a flip in midair before landing lightly upon her palms. Lotte murmured, “Thank you for your service,” before bringing her hands to her chest, where the sprite stepped _into_ Lotte.

Instantly, Lotte’s visage morphed. Her hair spiked out and a fire was lit in her eyes. “Wow, he’s a lot stronger than other spri— _FOOLISH MAHOU. IT IS ME, TAKAMINAKATA! THE GREAT SHINING DIETY!_ ”

ФЖФЖФЖФЖФЖФЖФЖФЖФ

“I have no idea what I’m doing.” Left to her own devices, Amanda loitered about a convenience store in the general neighborhood of her friends. She held onto a guardrail as she leaned out into the street, bored and lonely.

 _Will Akko ever want to see me again, let alone right after seeing me kiss Diana? It was probably a mistake to come._ Letting go with one hand, she allowed herself to fall forward and used her momentum to pivot and swing herself back over the guardrail onto the sidewalk. It would have been considerably more graceful if she hadn’t been stupefied upon seeing Akko walking down the sidewalk with a bag of groceries clutched in her hands.

The brunette witch stared at Amanda with wide eyes as she dumped her groceries with an “Eep!”

Ducking her head quickly, Akko began gathering her groceries, pretending not to see the flame-haired witch.

“Seriously?” Amanda said dryly.

“Ee? Eigo desu ka?” Akko said without lifting her head, intent on picking up every last scrap in a 3 meter radius.

“That’s how you’re going to play this, Akko?”

Akko lifted her head, “A-Amanda? Wo-wow! I, um, I didn’t see you there! What a coincidence running into you! Welp, I better be off—I’m sure you have lots of sightseeing to do!”

Akko began to run away, but Amanda grabbed her by the collar of her shirt, effectively halting her progress. “Come on. We need to talk.”

ФЖФЖФЖФЖФЖФЖФЖФЖФ

 


	14. Episode 04: Reason and Feeling: Part III

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yahallo! Thanks for reading. I switched over to Google Docs this chapter, so please let me know if I messed up any of the formatting.

**** Our Magic!   
Episode 04: Reason and Feeling   
Part III

“FOOLISH MAHOU. IT IS ME, TAKAMINAKATA! THE GREAT SHINING DEITY!” Lotte started coughing uncontrollably. After she recovered, she looked up at Chariot with watery eyes, “Did you say something?”

With wide eyes, Chariot asked, “Takaminakata-san?”

Instantly, Lotte shouted with the fury of a ten men, “That is -sama to you, foolish great mahou!”

“Takaminakata-sama!”

“Why are you shouting, Professor Chariot?” Lotte asked innocently, “And who is Takaminakata?”

“Ara, ara,” Chariot said in defeat. 

ФЖФЖФЖФЖФЖФЖФЖФЖФ

Amanda slurped noisily on her soft drink as she stared expectantly at Akko across the booth. Akko was looking everywhere except at her friend. With each slurp, Akko flinched as though she had been struck. 

“So,” Amanda finally broke her string of slurps with the declaration, “Are you going to talk at all?”

Akko thought through everything that happened and grew angrier and angrier. She puffed up her cheeks as she looked peevishly to the side, still avoiding Amanda’s gaze “Is that really fair? You came to Japan and I’m sitting here with you. Shouldn’t you do the talking?”

Amanda sighed, “OK then, so let’s clear the air. I kissed the girl you like and you ran away.” Akko scrunched her eyes shut and Amanda sighed again, “Pretending I’m not here?”

“You—Diana—you, UGH!” Akko threw her hands up and finally looked across at Amanda. The cocky smirk she expected to find was there, but it seemed fake to her somehow. Looking into her eyes, she saw a scared girl: a friend that she had fought with and fought beside. “Amanda, why are  _ you _ crying?!”

Confronted with the truth, Amanda couldn’t keep up the front she had been holding onto with every last fiber of her being. She devolved into a weeping mess, “You left us!” She tried to throw up a smokescreen, “How do you expect Constanze and Jasminka to deal with that so suddenly? And what about Sucy and Lotte? Everyone’s going crazy!”

Akko rushed around the booth to slide next to her and hugged her tightly; Amanda wailed, “That’s not fair! Why are you so nice? I hur-I hurt you.”

Akko smiled bitterly, “I couldn’t really blame  _ you _ . I was so mad and so scared and so jealous, but how could I blame you for falling for Diana? After all, I don’t understand how everyone  _ hasn’t  _ fallen for her.”

Shocked from her tears, Amanda gasped, “Oh God, do you think more people might go after her?”

Akko laughed, “Well, yeah, I guess so. I always thought Hannah and Barbara were wayyy too into her before we got to know them better.”

“Me too! I wanted to slap that adoring look off their faces every time I saw it.”

“Dayo! And I think half the reason Avery and Diana don’t get along is because Avery is too hetero to deal with how gorgeous Diana is.”

“You really think Avery plays for that side?”

“Have you seen the way she fawns over Andoru? It’s something else.”

Amanda hesitated, “You’re not acting like I thought you would be.”

Akko let go of her friend’s hands and sat side-by-side, staring at the now empty seat across from them, “I had been pretending to be straight for so long . . . You’re American, so maybe you don’t realize it, but Japan is still a very conservative country. I fought every sign I could of being a lesbian. I wouldn’t care about people thinking badly of me, but if it had come back on my parents, I don’t know what I would do.”

“It’s not like America is a gay utopia either, you know. And I don’t really think of myself as gay or straight, I just know that I like Diana and you.”

Akko shouted in surprise, “YOU LIKE  _ ME?! _ ”

Amanda slapped her forehead in disbelief, “Are you for real right now?”

“BUT YOU LIKE DIANA!”

“And I like you too! The same way I like Diana!”

“HOW WOULD THAT WORK?!”

“How am I supposed to know?!”

“Excuse me, can you please keep it down for the sake of our other customers?” A waitress asked them softly in Japanese. 

“Ack!” Akko shouted in surprise. She hurried to reassure the waitress that they’d be quiet from then on.

“What did she want?” Amanda asked once she walked away.

“We were being too noisy.”

“Ah, that makes sense.”

“They were probably paying extra attention to us since you look American.”

“What kind of weird stereotypes do you have about America anyway? And you were being twice as loud as me.”

“Nuh-uh,” Akko gave her ultimate argument finisher and stuck her tongue out.

“Careful, or I’ll bite your tongue.”

Her ultimate argument finisher had been defeated with next to no effort. Akko eeped as she looked down blushing.

“Now this is amazing. A blushing Akko sitting next to me in a restaurant. It’s almost like a date.”

“Chi-chigau.” Akko slipped into Japanese.

“Hmm?”

“It’s not like a date. You’re just flirting with me to put me off-kilter. I’ll show you that I’m always off-kilter,” Akko said defiantly. 

“Everyone knows you’re always off-kilter.”

“Nuh-uh,” Akko refrained from using her finishing move this time. 

“Yes-huh.”

“Not. Not everyone.”

“Everyone that’s seen you for more than a minute, which, oh yeah, last time I checked was the entire freaking world.”

“What do you want, Amanda?”

“Hmm?”

“What do you want from me? From Diana?”

Amanda sighed again, “Right now I’d love it if you stopped being such a moron and made up with Diana, then came home to Luna Nova.”

“But I saw how Diana kissed you, she clearly likes you.”

“You’re really dense, you know? How do you think someone is going to react to me kissing them? I could kiss Avery gay.”

Akko laughed hollowly at Amanda’s bravado, “I know what I saw.”

“Apparently you ran away pretty quick, since the first thing Diana did after was apologize to me and try to find you so that you could start dating.”

“No way.”

“Yeah way, dummy. You just about killed her with that note. Well, you just about killed everyone with that note.”

“Then why are you here and not her?”

“You really are dumb.  _ Everyone  _ is here. Diana left us before we knew it and she’s over here somewhere, but no one can reach her, and the rest of us followed as soon as we could.”

“What?”

“Everyone is here, and we’re all here to bring you back, and I’m sure a big part of Diana’s plan to bring you back is to kiss you into submission.”

“Haha, yeah right,” Akko said dismissively, but not being able to hide the smile that cropped up at the thought. 

“So come home already.”

“Oh, I already decided to come back,” Akko said, having just remembered she hadn’t said that yet.

Amanda fell forward and her head banged off the table, “Are you serious?”

“Well yeah, I mean, I tried calling but you were all already over here I guess? Or on your way?”

“So what was all this, a tantrum?” Amanda asked incredulously. 

“Well,” Akko became a little embarrassed, “I came out to my parents. And I thought they were going to flip, but well, they were pretty great about it. They refused to support me in moving back and insisted I continue to study magic at Luna Nova.”

“That’s really great!”

“Yeah, but what about you?”

“What about me?”

“You really like both me and Diana?”

“Yeah. I have for a while. I was all set to quit school and the thought of missing you was enough to keep me around, and I’ve always been crushing on Diana.”

“You were really obvious about that.”

“Hey!”

Akko tried to understand, “So like, you want a harem or something with me and Diana?”

Amanda slowly processed the innocuous question, her face becoming redder and redder as she did, “WHAT IS GOING ON IN YOUR HEAD?!”

A quick shush from a passing waitress stopped Akko from shouting back, “I just don’t understand. It seems like no matter what would happen between the three of us, you would be miserable.” She started counting off on her fingers, “One. You and Diana get together, and you don’t get me. Two. You and me get together, and you don’t get to be with Diana. Three. Me and Diana get together and you don’t get to be with either of us. And that’s the one that you’re going for? I don’t understand.”

Amanda shook her head, “You can’t help who you like, but I think you do understand. Why did you run away? What was the real reason?”

Akko nodded, “Because I thought you and Diana could be happy together, and I want Diana to be happy more than anything.”

“It’s like that. I want the two of you to be happy more than anything.”

“I’m sorry, I don’t want to share Diana.”

Amanda slapped Akko in the back of her head, “I swear to God, Kagari, if you don’t drop the harem thing . . . ”

Akko smiled at Amanda, cherishing her acting normally. The smile quickly dropped from her face as she said, “I wish you and Diana were together. It would make everything a lot easier.”

Amanda frowned, “What? Why? How?”

“Well, I mean. I am dying after all.”

ФЖФЖФЖФЖФЖФЖФЖФЖФ

“We don’t have time for this! We have to get to the Kagari’s!”

“You’re being possessed by an ancient spirit of Japan and all you’re worried about is Akko?” Chariot returned, “We have to deal with this now!”

“What is wrong with you?” Lotte shouted, “This is going way past not wanting to face her parents over the past! That’s already been dealt with and Akko is fine now!”

“That’s all it is, Lotte, please leave it alone.”

Takaminakata’s voice rumbled up from the center of Lotte’s chest, “GREAT MAHOU, TELL THE LITTLE MAHOU THE TRUTH!” Lotte finished in her own voice, “That feels really weird, but yes, tell me the truth! If it has to do with Akko, it might help bring her home!”

“Lotte, please,” Chariot pleaded, “I haven’t even spoken about this with Croix. I promise that I am on your side in bringing Akko home, but if it’s me doing it . . . ”

“What? You don’t believe in Akko’s love for you?”

Chariot turned away, “I’ve always been Shiny Chariot. How could her feelings be real? She’s idolized me her entire life. She’s liable to do anything I ask her to and who’s to say if that would be best? The last time she had a chance to impress me she channelled all of Yggdrasil through the Shiny Rod.”

“WOODWARD SEEMS TO BE LOSING HER TOUCH!” Lotte coughed, “Ack, do you have to shout every line? Those are my vocal chords you’re borrowing, but before we go any further, two things. Akko never knew you were Shiny Chariot until she already loved you for you—Akko is the  _ only _ one of us that still calls you Professor Ursula and I’m sure you know that’s because of how important you were to her independent of being Shiny Chariot. And this second thing Sucy told me and it’s been a source of comfort ever since: Akko’s an idiot.”

“Ha?”

“Akko wouldn’t think that she needed to do all of those things to impress you, she would have just done them because she thought she might be able to. If you think of her as being someone that just does the first thing that pops into her head without thinking of the consequences, then it makes it a lot easier to understand her.”

“That can’t be . . . Is that really OK?” Chariot said after a moment of thought.

“As long as it’s by people like us that love Akko, then yes, I think so!”

“ENOUGH OF THIS! WE ARE ON A QUEST TO RETURN THE LITTLE MAHOU! LET US EMBARK!”

“I understand there’s more to it that you don’t want to say, Professor, but for now, just trust in Akko.”

Chariot nodded, “Very well, I’m with you.”

“IT’S ABOUT TIME!”

ФЖФЖФЖФЖФЖФЖФЖФЖФ

“I need your help! Please! Speak with me!” Croix’s shouts rang through the lonely halls beneath Luna Nova.

Desperately, she continued to travel deeper.  _ At this rate, I’m going to run into a minotaur or a dragon.  _ “Woodward! Please! I know we have had our disagreements in the past—”  _ That’s an understatement if there ever was one _ , “But this is for Chariot and Akko!”

“Croix, I am so happy to see you.” The looming presence of Woodward behind her startled her.

“Oh thank God, I never thought you would come out.”

“Oh? You must have though, for you would not have attempted a fruitless endeavor.” Woodward said calmly as she regarded the young witch.

“Chariot is in danger. I need to get to her as soon as I can.”

“It is interesting to me that you believe that someone attacking you can only mean an attack on Chariot. Do you have such little self-worth, Croix?”

“Oh come on, can we skip the psychology for once? Of course they are going after Chariot and Akko. There’s no reason they’d come after me.” Woodward stood silently, “That wood face of yours is as stoic as ever I see.”

“You are correct in one regard. Chariot  _ is _ in danger.”

“What?” Croix exclaimed in surprise. “From the same people that attacked Balto?”

“Do you recall your report concerning the risks facing the world with the return of magic? What might come about in places such as, say, Japan?”

Croix slipped into recall mode, devoting half of her attention to reading one of her own reports in her head. She spoke distractedly, “In areas of historically low magic, the influx of magic is certain to cause problems the local magic community will be ill-equipped to deal with.”

“Correct, I believe you likened it to when the indigenous peoples of the Americas were exposed to diseases like smallpox for the first time. Unlike the Europeans which had resistance to the disease, over 90% of their population ended up dying.”

Croix smirked, “Should I be surprised that you know it better than I do?”

“Let me pose a hypothetical situation to you, suppose the ancient great powers of the world—what Akko might refer to as kami—were given new life? New power? And unlike centuries ago, little to none of the restraints that once held them in check were functioning?”

“Professor Woodward,” Croix bowed her head, “Please. Where is Chariot?”

“You could find this out on your own, so I can tell you she is in Japan with Akko.”

“And Diana, too?”

Woodward inclined her head, “All of the girls have made the trip.”

“And some kami is waking up there?!”

Woodward remained silent. 

“What can you tell me?”

“I believe you are stronger together.”

Croix couldn’t stop herself from laughing without mirth, “Really?  _ Now  _ you believe we are stronger together?”

Woodward scoffed, “I have always thought that. I believed in you, Croix. Believed in Chariot  _ and _ you. In the same way, I believed in Akko  _ and _ Diana. It has always needed two to make it work. If you had stayed with Chariot back then, I am sure you would have succeeded in unlocking the seventh Word. As it stands, it took a while longer than I thought, but you did eventually succeed.”

“Are you joking?”

“Have you ever known me to joke?”

“So all this time, since the beginning, I was supposed to help Chariot?!”

“As she would have with you, if you could have been the primary wielder of the Claiomh Solais.”

Despite herself, Croix began crying, “I’m past this already. I already knew I was wrong to abandon her!”

Woodward glided closer and enfolded Croix in her arms, “It all ended up working out Croix. You do not have to blame yourself any longer. Believe in Yggdrasil. Believe in Chariot. Believe in Akko. Believe in your love.”

“A believing heart . . . ” Croix thought of Chariot when she first came to Luna Nova. With the thought, a gate to Yggdrasil opened at their feet, “Where does this go?”

“To Chariot.”

Croix leapt.

ФЖФЖФЖФЖФЖФЖФЖФЖФ

“Don’t you think that’s a little dark?”

“Nah, I can feel the change,” Akko replied, thumping her chest, “In here.”

“What the hell is that supposed to mean?”

“It means that I’m being overwhelmed by my own magic,” Akko said. “I have been struggling with it, and I can usually keep it from hurting, but it’s a losing battle.”

“Aren’t you Akko? Aren’t you the wielder of the Shiny Rod? What do you mean it’s a losing battle?! You convinced us to fly on our  _ brooooms _ after a  _ miss-sile _ , have you forgotten? You don’t know the meaning of lose!”

Akko smiled, “It’s different when it’s on the inside.”

“Alright! As soon as Chariot and Lotte come back we’re going after Diana. I’ve figured it out, you’re broken in the head and we need Diana to put you back together.”

“I’m really not . . . ”

“I mean, more broken in the head than we usually take you for.”

Akko pouted, but managed to think about what else Amanda had said, “Where did Ursula-sensei and Lotte go?”

“To your house.”

“WHAT?!” Akko screeched, jumping up and earning a scowl from the waitress.

“Whoa, what’s the big deal?”

“Ursula-sensei is going to my house? Where my mom is?!”

“Um, yeah? We came to bring you back. They went first so we didn’t overwhelm you.”

“Ursula-sensei CANNOT meet my mom, come on, we have to go!”

“I don’t get it. Why can’t Chariot meet your mom?”

“Because it will be so embarrassing I really will die!”

ФЖФЖФЖФЖФЖФЖФЖФЖФ


	15. Episode 04: Reason and Feeling: Part IV

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yahallo! This chapter has a little bit more strong language, but it’s been rated T since the beginning so, yep, you’ve been warned.

Our Magic!   
Episode 04: Reason and Feeling   
Part IV

“Woodward, how lovely to see you again,” the raven-haired, alabaster-skinned witch with lips the color of blood said with a smile.

“You are not welcome in my sanctum,” Woodward greeted her brusquely. 

“Come now, I’ve come alone. My sisters don’t even know I am here.” Woodward’s size trebled at the statement, “But they will find out if I do not return.”

Woodward slowly retreated to her natural size, “Of course. For what purpose do you defile this hall?”

“I have claimed Croix as my own.”

Woodward scoffed and smiled, “You may want to tell her that.”

“Do we have to be so antagonistic? We were allies once.”

“I am on the side of Yggdrasil, of magic. You have no place here.”

“That’s where you’ve always been mistaken. Magic has no sides. Bring her out to me, you cannot deny my claim.”

“I deny your claim with every fiber of my being. Croix is mine.”

“Twice do I say,  _ Bring Croix to me _ .”

“Say it as much as you like, silly faerie, you have no power here.”

Her voice rung out, “Thrice spoken, BRING CROIX TO ME.”

Woodward shuddered and seemed to shrink in on herself. Her opponent smiled in victory, not noticing the roots racing along the floor towards her. Woodward could not help but smile and the sharp-eyed witch realized her folly at the last moment. With a shout of pure power, she extended her aura to turn aside the roots of Yggdrasil. “Fool! You dare defy me under the Old Accords?”

“I am the fool? You demand something impossible! Croix is not here, I have not broken the Accords.”

“Dammit! We traced her to you, where is she?!” The witch’s power flooded the hall, forcing Woodward to her knees.

“How do you possess such power?”

“Where you have allowed others to share in your power, we have coveted and hoarded it. You will never defeat us.” Woodward looked up stoically at the gathering power between the witch’s fingertips. She knew what would come next. “ _ Murowa! _ ”

ФЖФЖФЖФЖФЖФЖФЖФЖФ

“Um, excuse me. We are here to speak to the Kagari’s,” Chariot leaned in to speak into the intercom outside Akko’s home.

“No soliciting, thanks!” the cheerful rejection came clear through the intercom.

“FOOLISH MORTAL, YOU DARE DENY US ENTRY? I WILL WIPE YOUR HOME FROM THE MAP!” Lotte shouted into the air, thankfully not pressing the button on the intercom.

“We’re not soliciting, we’re here from Luna Nova.”

“Luna Nova! Just a minute!” Lotte and Chariot stepped back from the door as they heard crashing from within the home. The clear sound of someone tumbling down the stairs and into a wall before the door was slammed open startled even Takeminakata. 

“Oh. My. God.” The harried appearance of a panting Atsumi Kagari filled the doorway imposingly—as much as a small, skinny woman can.

_ I SENSE A DISTURBING FORCE FROM THIS ONE, LITTLE MAHOU. BE ON YOUR GUARD,  _ Takeminakata spoke within Lotte’s head.

_ Ouch, you even think in a shout? Really?  _

“Ah, yes,” Chariot continued, “As I was saying, we are from Luna Nova. I am Ursula Callistis and this is Lotte Yanson and we are here to speak about Akko. Is she here?”

“Ursula. Callistis.” Atsumi said disbelievingly. 

“Yes,” Chariot avoided looking in Atsumi’s eyes as she answered.

“You knowww,” Atsumi drawled out, “My daughter has been obsessed with Shiny Chariot for as long as I can remember.”

Ursula gulped, “Oh? I think she may have mentioned something to that effect at some point . . . ”

“Lotte-chan, you’re welcome to come in, but I’m not sure I can let an imposter in my home.”

“FINALLY!” Lotte pushed her way past Atsumi, “SLAVES! BRING ME MEAT AND ALCOHOL!”

Dazed, Atsumi turned from Lotte to face Chariot, “Somehow she’s not what I was expecting from Akko’s description of her. But anyway, back to the imposter.”

“I  _ am _ Ursula Callistis,” Chariot said stubbornly. She hesitated before acknowledging, “But I also have been known by Chariot du Nord.”

“I knew it! Oh my God, you’re even hotter in person!” Atsumi grabbed Chariot by the arm and dragged her inside. “I have so much to talk to you about! Can I get your autograph? Can I take a selfie with you? What’s your dress size? Do you want to wear some of my clothes while you’re here so you don’t look so witchy?”

Chariot could only mutter, “What?” in surprise as she was dragged along.

ФЖФЖФЖФЖФЖФЖФЖФЖФ

Leylines functioned as the literal branches of Yggdrasil, transporting magic across the planet. Witches, wizards, and some other creatures could tap into them at certain points and ride the leyline at speeds much faster than they could normally fly.

Croix was falling through the leyline. 

Although it seemed to have air and behave like one would expect from anywhere on the planet, in truth, the leylines were composed entirely of magic. There was no air resistance like there would be if Croix had fallen on Earth.

She continued to accelerate, drawn inexorably to her destination.

That was before the leyline began to unravel. The jolt ran through the magic comprising the leyline and sent Croix into a stomach-churning spin. “Shit! Shit, shit!”

Croix cursed as she righted herself during the fall. She could see the leyline shift and move unnaturally as though she had brought salt into it. Drawing on the magic all around her, she pulled it into her wand to accelerate her even faster.

The exit to the leyline loomed ahead, “Thank God!”

As she was about to shoot through at her current impossible velocity, another jolt rocked through the entire leyline. If before, the leyline had an upset stomach, this jolt was its death throes. Croix was forcibly ejected as the magic died. 

Shot up into the air, Croix underwent the extreme deceleration that came from the drag of the Earth’s atmosphere. Using the last of the magic she had gathered, she managed to catch herself and bring herself to a stop without going splat on the sidewalk. 

Shakily, she looked at the street signs that greeted her,  _ Japan, thank God. Thank Woodward. What the hell happened? _

“Professor Croix?!” Diana, with a gaggle of Japanese girls surrounding her looked on in horror. Croix’s vision slanted and spun before she vomited noisily on the sidewalk.

ФЖФЖФЖФЖФЖФЖФЖФЖФ

“Seriously Amanda, you do not understand what my mom is like, we have to go go go!” 

“I understand, but don’t you want to tell everyone you’re coming back and reassure them? They’re closer than your house is.”

“We can do that AFTER we rescue Ursula-sensei from my mom.”

“Rescue?”

“My mom is probab—ahhh!” Akko’s frantic voice turned into a scream of pure terror as the pain of a dying leyline filtered through her. She gasped as the aftershocks coursed through her body, trying hard not to reveal how much pain she was in. “Oh. Oh.”

Akko collapsed to the ground, whimpering in pain, as Amanda looked on in horror. “What. The. FUCK?!”

ФЖФЖФЖФЖФЖФЖФЖФЖФ

Lotte sat with her feet kicked up on the table and her fingers interlaced behind her head as she reclined on Akko’s chair. Atsumi was holding on to Chariot’s arm with an impossibly wide smile on her face as she sat inappropriately close to her on the couch diagonally from Lotte. Every few minutes, Lotte would realize how she was sitting and rush to sit up straight with her feet on the ground, only to immediately start lounging once she stopped paying attention. 

“Your skin is so pretty up close, what products do you use?”

“Um, magic?”

“Yeah you do.”

“What?”

“THE MORTAL WOMAN IS CLEARLY IN HEAT.”

“Heyyy! That’s not nice,” Atsumi complained, “How often do I have a lesbian idol in my living room?”

“Huh? Lesbian? Lesbian idol?” Chariot gasped, “How do they know?”

“What are you surprised by? Shiny Chariot is huge in the LGBT+ community! I think you’re more popular now than you were when you were touring! It’s camp now.”

“She is?” Chariot coughed, “I am?”

“Yes! I’m sure millions of little girls had their sexual awakening because of you, not just Akko.”

Chariot spit out her tea at that revelation, Lotte-Takeminakata raised a curious eyebrow. Sputtering, Chariot responded, “A-Akko did what?”

Atsumi waggled her eyebrows at the flustered idol, “What do you think an adoring fan might do if she looked up to a lesbian idol as she was going through puberty?”

“Huh? She. Akko wanted to do magic like I do?”

“Well yes, obviously. But I’ll give you another hint, she has your poster above her bed,” Atsumi said with a wink. 

Chariot slowly boiled over until she was red from her chest to her ears. She stubbornly denied what she was being told, “I don’t. I don’t understand.”

The slam of the door thankfully interrupted them, “Honey! I’m home!” 

Atsumi shouted from the living room, “Welcome home!”

“Atsumi? What are you doing?” Atsumi’s husband’s voice trailed off as he came into the living room, briefcase and newspaper in hand. “Shiny Chariot?”

The beet-red Chariot nodded once, embarrassed she was instantly recognized again.  _ I should have left my hair blue. _

Chariot was not prepared for his reaction, instantly, he rolled up his newspaper and started smacking Atsumi with it, “No! No! Bad!”

Atsumi pouted, “Honey, that’s not really fair. I haven’t even tried to seduce her yet!”

“Whaaaaat?” Chariot screeched. 

“I TOLD YOU SO,” Lotte-Takeminakata gave Akko’s father an appraising glance, “I APPROVE OF THE WAY YOU KEEP YOUR WOMAN IN LINE.”

He shook his head in denial at being told that from a little girl, “What?”

“It’s OK honey, they don’t know that we play like that sometimes.”

“What?” he eeped. 

Atsumi pouted, “You mean you weren’t playing?”

“Stop trying to sleep with Akko’s teacher!”

“I told you, I haven’t tried to sleep with her yet!”

“There’s that ‘yet’ again!”

Chariot fainted. “I CANNOT APPROVE OF SUCH A DEFENSIVE TACTIC IN THIS SITUATION, GREAT MAHOU. AWAKEN!”

Startled awake, Chariot squeaked out, “Akko!”

Akko’s parents and Lotte-Takeminakata stared at her, waiting for her to finish speaking. Chariot thought quickly, “Let’s talk about Akko. Specifically, I cannot approve of her leaving Luna Nova. Luna Nova is the best place for her.”

“I agree,” Atsumi said while her husband nodded in agreement beside her.

“Huh?” Chariot said, “You agree?” 

“Yes, we have forbidden Akko from leaving Luna Nova. She’ll be returning there at the end of break.”

“So all of this was unnecessary?”

“It was completely necessary to meet you,” Atsumi said dreamily while simultaneously evading the rolled up newspaper of her husband. 

Takeminakata suddenly called to Lotte,  _ LOTTE-CHAN, SOMETHING HAS DISTURBED THE MAGICS OF MY LAND. I MUST LEAVE YOU TO INVESTIGATE. _

_ What? Are you going to be OK? _

_ FEAR NOT, FOR I AM GREAT SHINING DEITY TAKEMINAKATA. I MUST ASK YOU TO RELEASE ME. _

_ Is there anything else you can tell me? Can I help in any way? _

_ TINY MAHOU, THANK YOU FOR BEING MY VESSEL. _

_ I understand, thank you for your service. _

With tears in her eyes, Lotte came back to the present. Chariot had moved to behind her chair, while Atsumi was being held down from pursuing her by her husband. “Excuse me, I missed what happened the last few minutes, but Takeminakata-sama has left, so I won’t be able to understand anything in Japanese.”

Atsumi blinked at her from under her husband, “You’re speaking in Japanese now, Lotte-chan.”

Lotte smiled in surprise, “Really? Thank you, Takeminakata-sama!”

Chariot asked, “Why did he leave?”

“He said something about the magics of Japan being disturbed.”

“The magics of Japan?” Chariot asked in surprise, “We need to find Akko immediately!” 

Akko’s parents slowly sat up in confusion, “What’s going on? Why are you worried about Akko?”

Chariot looked at them sadly, but before she could respond, the intercom buzzer went off and several hands started pounding on their door. 

“Chariot! We need you! It’s Akko! If you don’t open the door, Jasminka is going to knock it down!” Sucy shouted through the intercom.

Chariot jumped into action, sparing a glance at Akko’s parents, who nodded in permission without understanding Sucy’s words. With the door opened, Jasminka entered first carrying an unconscious Akko, followed by the remaining five witches. 

“What happened?” Chariot asked. Sucy saw the horrified Lotte and fell into a tight hug, trying to distract her from the sight of Akko. Jasminka set Akko down on the couch, and everyone could see her spasming in pain. “Oh my God, what happened?”

Amanda spoke up, “She just collapsed. She said she had to get here to rescue you from her mom and she collapsed in pain. She passed out right away and it was all I could do to get her to everyone.”

Lotte distractedly translated the conversation for Akko’s parents, allowing Sucy to continue to cling to her. Constanze alternated between staring at them and staring at Akko. Hannah and Barbara held hands and looked like they were about to collapse themselves. Jasminka stayed on her knees in front of Akko from when she brought her to the couch. 

Chariot narrowed her eyes in concentration, trying to figure out the closest magic source. She whipped her head to stare at Lotte. “How much magic did Takeminakata leave within you?”

“What?” Lotte asked, “I don’t think he left any? He seemed like he would need all of his power.”

“Damn!” Chariot swore, startling all the girls with her uncharacteristic outburst. Pushing up her sleeves, she pulled out her wand. 

“What are you going to do?” Amanda asked dismayed, “There’s no magic here.”

“I was a wielder of Claiomh Solais, you know,” Chariot responded. 

“What does that . . .” 

Chariot reached out with her magic, touching for the first time in over a decade the power of Yggdrasil directly. Her scream of pain erupted from her throat as magic filled her, lifting her from the ground. 

Lotte murmured, “Great mahou.”

“Nooooooooooo!” Chariot screamed herself hoarse, clutching at her head in pain, before finally dropping to the floor. 

Jasminka was too slow to catch her, but picked her up from the ground and cradled the red-haired witch in her arms. Surprised at how light and tiny her professor was, Jasminka asked, “What do I do?”

Chariot moaned in pain and opened her eyes. The chorus of her students’ voices greeted her.

“A branch of Yggdrasil has been cut,” Chariot announced darkly. 

Unsure what to make of her declaration, everyone looked around at each other hoping someone would explain. Atsumi tugged on her husband’s sleeve, “Maybe we were too quick to force Akko back to Luna Nova?”

ФЖФЖФЖФЖФЖФЖФЖФЖФ

**_. . . to be continued!_ **


	16. Episode 05: Tremors Part I

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Holy crap! I took literally forever to update. There’s no excuse. Gomen nasai. It’s especially frustrating since I feel like I had a good reputation of posting quickly originally. I hope you enjoy the coming chapters.
> 
> A special thank you to everyone that commented and messaged during my hiatus. Knowing how much you guys are enjoying the story is especially touching to me and a huge inspiration and the sole reason I managed to get this chapter out finally. I’ll do my best juggling my other responsibilities so that I can continue writing about our witches.

 

Our Magic!   
Episode 05: Tremors   
Part I

Diana faced Croix with her wand drawn and ready to attack. In the time it took for Croix to come to her senses, she had already procured Croix’s wand and sent Akko’s friends away. After hearing Croix’s story, Diana offered her opinion. 

“You should turn yourself in.”

“I can’t turn myself in. I need to find and protect Chari.”

“How full of yourself. Professor Chariot can defend herself. What would she think knowing you’re on the run from the law?”

“Fuck the law,” Croix retorted. Diana stared at her unblinking, “The wizard monitoring me was murdered with dark magic.”

“There is a reason you were arrested.”

“You—oh,” Croix began to snap back before realizing, “You haven’t forgiven me. More than being protective of Akko and Chariot, you hold everything against me.”

“Did you expect forgiveness?”

“No. This is—this is actually refreshing.”

“What is?”

“Chariot and Akko—it was just too easy. I don’t deserve forgiveness. Not yet—that’s true, but both of them not only forgave me, but went so many steps past forgiveness that it was like it never happened. It didn’t feel real. This—this is appropriate. This is real.”

“So you’ll turn yourself in?” Diana asked unrelentingly. 

“Of course not.” Diana’s face scrunched up in annoyance. Croix couldn’t prevent herself from laughing. She hurried to hold her hands up placatingly. “Sorry, sorry. You’re too cute when you’re flustered—I couldn’t help it. Teasing you might be almost as fun as teasing Chari.”

“If you do not mind, Croix,” Diana put a slight sarcastic emphasis on her title-less name. “Explain yourself.”

Croix’s eyes twinkled, “You and I both know what the right thing to do is.”

“Yes,” Diana acknowledged with a curt nod.

“What would Akko do?”

Diana rolled her eyes in exasperation as her brain unwillingly followed the path of Croix’s words. Resignedly, she sighed and finally lowered her wand. “Of all the inane arguments to win me over.”

Croix smiled fiercely, “Allow me to improve it then. What would you do—if Akko was in danger?”

Diana’s eyes hardened, “I would do anything.”

“We’ve reached an entente.”

“Hmm. I still believe you are in the most danger, but you are not incorrect in your supposition that trouble that falls on you tends to splash on Professor Chariot . . . and on Akko.”

Croix looked troubled. “Y-yes. That’s true. It is not my inten—”

“Enough of the self-blame; for better or for worse, I have decided to fall in on your side today. What do you propose we do next?”

“Go to Akko’s. I’m sure Chario—”

“Rejected,” Diana cut her off again.

“What? Why—”

“You are being pursued. You are also harried and flustered and not thinking correctly. Have you had a complete thought since we began conversing? Do not answer that. It was rhetorical.” Croix shut her mouth in consternation. “We shall not lead your pursuers straight to those we wish to protect.”

“That’s— . . . reasonable. I  _ am _ overly emotional right now. I can’t believe I would make such a mistake.”

“It is more than understandable. How long have you been running? You look terrible. Have you eaten?”

Croix was slightly dejected at the analysis of the pretty teenager in front of her and opened her mouth again to deny any discomfort. This time, Diana did not cut her off but the growl of her stomach interrupted what she was about to say. 

Diana smiled wryly, “We are not going to be of help to anyone if you collapse. Let us get something to eat and discuss our options. What would—”

“Ramen.” Croix interrupted firmly and confidently.

“What?”

“We’re in Japan. The birthplace of ramen. It’s got to be ramen.”

Diana thought about Croix’s words and nodded, “Very well. But it shall be real ramen, not the instant variety.”

“I don’t like it, but I can compromise to that. It’s a date.”

“No. No it is not. It is a strategy meeting. Stop trying to ignore your state of mind by teasing me.” 

ФЖФЖФЖФЖФЖФЖФЖФЖФ

The buzzer drew the attention of everyone. Tiredly, Atsumi rose and moved to the door. With her daughter convalescent, her seemingly boundless energy had found its limit. Pushing in the button to speak, she spoke hoarsely, “Yes? Who is it? Now is not a good time.”

“Kagari-obasan? This is Tanaka Megumi. We met a witch that left us with a message for Akko.”

Fury ignited behind Atsumi’s eyes, granting her a temporary allowance of energy. She pushed the button and snapped, “There’s no one here called that!”

“Oh come on. Seriously?”

“Just say it. She’ll never let us in otherwise.”

“But she’s Akko’s  _ mom _ . It’s weird to call her anything but obasan.”

“You’re holding in the button! She can hear us!”

“Oh shit!”

“Um . . . ” a long silence followed which Atsumi finally, mercifully broke.

“Yes? Do you have something to say to me?”

A chorus of “Atsumi-nee” greeted her, followed by assurances they were just joking.

Atsumi haughtily replied, “You’re 100 years too early if you think you can join my comedy troupe with weak humor like that!”

“Can you believe she’s using that idiom after just complaining about us calling her an obasan?”

“The button!”

“What?! Again?”

“Why are you holding it down?! Have you learned nothing?! Where do you think we are?!”

ФЖФЖФЖФЖФЖФЖФЖФЖФ

Diana stared blankly at the slurping Croix. “What? In Japan it’s considered rude  _ not _ to slurp.”

“That cannot be true.”

“It definitely is. Would I lie to you?”

Diana stared at the bowl of ramen in front of her. She looked around furtively at the walls of the private room they were eating in as though the walls had eyes. Using her chopsticks to pluck a single strand, she pushed her hair back behind her ear and daintily slurped up the noodle. Croix stared at the entire act with wide eyes.

“What?! You were lying!”

“No! No I wasn’t! I’m just glad you and Akko are an item now so I don’t have to worry about Chariot around you.”

Diana fumed, “We are not exactly an item.”

Croix slurped up another mouthful and pointed at her with her free chopsticks, “Bup dats ush uh diming ing.”

“I have no idea what you just said. You are not going to tell me it is considered impolite to not speak with your mouth full in Japan next, are you?”

Croix hurriedly swallowed, “I said, ‘but that’s just a timing thing’. Right?”

A faint blush appeared, “I hope so.”

“And speaking of timing. I didn’t notice before because I was—uh. . . ”

“Sick? Vomiting? Flustered? Harried? Going insane?”

“Sure, those things,” Croix decided it would be easiest just to agree with Diana instead of rising to her insults. “Anyway, you seem incredibly off. What’s up with that?” She continued slurping up ramen.

Diana lay her chopsticks across her bowl and used a napkin to dab at her mouth before answering. “I feel . . . off.”

“Elaborate please.” Croix picked her bowl up to cover the bottom half of her mouth as she continued shoveling food in, but her eyes were focused intently on the blonde witch.

“It’s like . . . it’s like there’s a part of me, but it’s not a part of me.”

Croix sat her bowl back down. “That’s incredibly descriptive.”

“Like I have lost an arm or there is a hole in my . . . chest.”

“I really think it is important that we at least check on Akko.”

“What is this now? I thought we moved past this. We need to quickly ascertain the danger facing Japan, figure out how it is connected with the sorcerers chasing you, and launch a counteroffensive. No part of that includes exposing Akko to the dangers of whatever you are mixed up in.”

“Not for me,” Croix said firmly. “I didn’t say we need to check on Chariot. That leyline shot me out, but I’m thinking now maybe it was cut off at the source.”

“At the source . . . at Yggdrasil?”

Croix nodded, “And who do you think might—”

“Akko!” Diana slammed her hands down on the table as she shot out of her chair, then slowly deflated back to her seat. “Even if I check on her myself, now that I am with you, I do not want to take the chance of leading a murderer back to Akko.”

“We just need to trick anyone coming after me is all.”

“How do you propose accomplishing that? Neither of our wands have enough magic remaining to effect such a thing and even if you had your gadgets, we are just too far from Yggdrasil.”

Croix raised an eyebrow at the mention of her gadgets, “When you get desperate for Akko you even consider my gadgets, eh?”

Rolling her eyes, Diana replied, “I said I would do anything, did I not?”

“We don’t need magic. There’s a roof access for this building. You’re a beautiful girl.”

“I am going to tell Professor Chariot you were flirting with me.”

Rare fear flashed across Croix’s face, “Let’s not be hasty. I just meant you should go charm a waitress to let you up on the roof for some air.”

“Me?” Diana shrilly squeaked.

“Yes, you. Now hike your skirt up like your girlfriend does and go out there and flirt your way up in the world—literally. Don’t worry. I’ll finish the rest of your ramen. It won’t go to waste.”

“This. This is a bad idea.”

ФЖФЖФЖФЖФЖФЖФЖФЖФ

Diana strutted up to the counter and leaned with her back to it. She casually flicked her hair back over her shoulder and batted her eyes at the aghast waitress. “Often you come here?” she asked in her broken Japanese. 

“I work here. Can I help you?”

“I don’t know. Can you?” she leaned in closer to the waitress as she breathily replied. 

“Let me get someone else to assist you, honored customer.” The waitress fled faster than Akko after a tarte-heist. Diana leaned too far into the newly vacated space and stumbled, catching herself on the counter. 

“Ugh, Amanda makes this look so easy.” Ignoring the two waitresses obviously arguing about her, she steeled her face into another smile as their debate finished and a new waitress came up. 

“Hello. May I help you?” The waitress was speaking English, thank god!

“YES! Please help me.” Diana’s sudden relief transferred through her body language and she practically slumped over. Unfortunately, the top button of her cardigan was loosened by her evil professor and the her rapid movement caused her wardrobe to appear extra lascivious. 

The waitress’s eyes were slowly, inexorably drawn beneath Diana’s neckline. Like lightning, her eyes shot straight up to Diana’s and the poor girl began stuttering in Japanese. Diana could only watch as red seeped up the waitress’s neck until she boiled over and fainted. 

“Are you kidding?! This is ridiculous! I look absurd! Am I not attractive to anyone here at all?!”

Like he was summoned from the aether, a college-aged bishounen appeared. “Hi there pretty girl. Would you like to have morning coffee with me?”

Diana pulled back involuntarily to see Croix waving at her from across the restaurant. “I! I have to go to the toilet!”

Diana ran. When she finally caught up with the laughing Croix, she couldn’t stop herself from smacking the—now Diana was sure of it—truly evil witch on the arm. Repeatedly. “I was just a diversion!”

“How are you supposed to flirt with people when you barely speak the language? You were a great diversion. That finale was perfect.”

“How did you get the key? Did you steal it?”

“Yes I did, Miss I’ll-do-anything. And here you go.” Croix dropped the key in her hands.

“What are you going to do?”

“If they are following me magically, going out the roof isn’t going to help anything. I’ll start researching. I’ll come back here for dinner every day, so when you get the chance, meet me back here.”

“Croix,” Diana began, “I want to be able to trust you.”

Croix smiled wryly, “It’s healthy to doubt me. For the both of us.”

“That is true, but the both of us do trust in and believe in Akko. And Akko believes in you.”

Croix blinked and turned her head away. “Akko is a fool.”

“She is, but it does not mean she is wrong. I have never gone wrong believing in Akko. Prove Akko’s trust in you right. Do it for you if you can, but if you cannot, then do it for Akko. And for Chariot too, of course.”

“You really don’t play fair. Get going. I know you’re as worried about Akko as I am. Go get your girl.”

ФЖФЖФЖФЖФЖФЖФЖФЖФ

Returning back to their private room for a final bowl of ramen, Croix was not surprised when it was occupied. She calmly sat down and began eating. The merry laugh that rang out was a surprise, but did not dissuade her from her food.

“For how long did you sense my presence, little girl?”

“Little girl? That’s your schtick? You definitely look younger than I do.”

“And yet you know that looks mean little. Please do not do something like rudely refuse to answer my questions when we are having such a nice discussion.”

“I know what the eyes of a predator feel like.”

“Indeed you do. You have caught my attention for a number of reasons. It was impressive the young Cavendish did not blink at your change in tactics.”

“I know her weakness after all. She’ll realize something was wrong when she has the time to think back on our final conversation.” 

“Such trust in another is an undesirable surprise from you, but we can use that as well. And you do not fear my chasing after her and gobbling her up?”

“I’ve had time to think. More than that, I’ve been recharged with this delicious food.”

“And what conclusion have your ramen-fueled thoughts brought you to?”

“That you are not a danger to Chariot, nor Akko.”

The red-lipped smile widened, showing pearly white teeth. “Oh, but I am.”

“You’re correct of course. But you’re not after them. You’re after me.”

“Yes. I do want you.”

“And if I tell you that I’m already seeing someone?”

“We have ways of making you forget.”

“You’re here with me, and you were the only presence I sensed. Seems like I’ve accomplished what I set out to do.”

Again, like a clear bell, the raven-haired witch’s laugh rang out. “You’ve miscalculated. You’ve accomplished exactly what I wanted you to do.”

Croix frowned, her thoughts racing to understand. She slurped up the final mouthful of ramen before acquiescing her defeat. “Explain.”

“Very well, only because it amuses me.” The raven-haired witch picked up a chopstick in each hand like a knife and fork, and Croix shook her head in exasperation at the show of ignorance from her opponent. “My sisters and I watched you as you fled from that place we had our fun in.”

“You . . . watched me?”

A nod. “Put it together now. Show I was right to believe in you.”

“You watched me without me being able to know. You were there when I was at my most alert.”

“Good. And?”

“And you deliberately revealed yourself tonight. To . . . to get me to send Diana away.”

“Very good. And you played right into my hands, just like always. I do so love a good servant.”

“I will never serve—ahh!”

Faster than Croix could blink, her hands were nailed to the table. She stared down in horror at the single chopstick sticking up from the back of each hand. The black-hearted, raven-haired witch luxuriously lounged as though she had not made a movement, but the sudden gust of displaced air belied her appearance. 

“Everyone says that in the beginning . . . well, the interesting ones do anyway. I know you think you know pain, fear, and anger, my dear Croix, but I have come to complete your education. I am doing this for you. I will show you the beauty of misery.”

“What a pretty speech. Forgive me for not applauding,” Croix tilted her head down at her hands. The beautiful smile of her captor was starting to chip away at Croix’s bravado and internally her stomach was doing somersaults. 

“You make me so happy, Croix.”

“Do you have a name?”

“Indeed, but I don’t think you’re ready for it just yet. For now, call me Ana.”

“Very well then, Ana. Know that I will utterly destroy you.”

The smile was the last thing she saw before electricity and raw pain flooded through her body causing her to fall backwards, her nailed hands the only thing keeping her from falling from her seat to the floor.

ФЖФЖФЖФЖФЖФЖФЖФЖФ

“I suppose being up high is completely different without a broom,” Diana sighed in frustration, but resolutely made the jump to the next building yet again. Her heart was pounding, but she pushed through. “Is this what humans feel like all the time? Is this what it was like for Akko before she learned to fly?”

The next building was an entire floor lower than the current five story department store she stood atop. “This is going to suck.”

She climbed up on the cement barrier to ready her jump to the next building. So far, every building she’s tried has either not had roof access or the doors have been locked. It’s turned into a long night of jumping roof to roof. 

Diana wiped her sweat as she set herself to jump once more. 

The earthquake probably could have occurred at any other time and Diana would have been fine.

However, when the tremor worked its way through the elastic supports of the building at the very instant she began to jump, it’s probably not a surprise that she stumbled.

That she fell. 

The preeminent prodigy that was Diana still managed to put enough lateral force in her bungled leap to cross the gap to the next building. 

But she was hanging on by the very tips of her fingers.

Additionally, the impact against the building took her breath away and left a dull ache in the right side of her chest. 

“Akko. Akko. Akko.”

When people are close to dying, they say their lives flashed before their eyes. In those moments hanging from the building, Diana’s life with Akko flashed before her. From her first sight of the brunette crashing the matriculation ceremony, to her food-filled-mouth of an introduction.  _ Did my heart know then that I was already in love with her? _

Fighting with Akko. Trying to encourage her to take classes seriously. Saving Akko. Racing Akko. Akko at Andrew’s ball. Being saved by Akko. Seeing Akko in her old birthday dress. 

Akko in the snow. Akko crying. Akko Akko Akko. 

Fighting hand in hand with Akko. 

Being tackle-kissed by Akko.  _ Akko! I love you! I want to be with you! Akko! _ “Akko!”

Her love gave her strength. Clinging with her left hand, her right arm stretched up to secure her handhold. 

The innocuous popping sound confused her momentarily. The burning pain of her finger bending out of place was too far from her thoughts to process.  _ Why am I falling? _

Before she could react, she hit the ground. 

ФЖФЖФЖФЖФЖФЖФЖФЖФ

“I should stay with Akko.” Chariot’s insistence was surprising after the trouble they had getting her to come.

“Professor, we don’t know what’s out there. We need you. Leave it to Constanze, Hannah, and Barbara,” Amanda pleaded for the umpteenth time. 

Lotte nodded, “I can handle it until we meet back up with the sprites, but we have no idea why Croix is here or what we will need to do after. If we have to meet up with any sort of officials, we definitely need you.”

Sucy added, “And if we meet up with any crazy dragons or other monsters, we’d need you even more.”

“But Akko.”

Atsumi laid her hand on the red-haired bishoujo’s shoulder. “We are so touched by how much you care for Akko. If twelve-year old Akko knew you wanted to stay to watch her sleep, she’d die from embarrassment.” 

“More like she’d die from embarrassment from you saying that, Atsumi,” her husband commented.

“Shush, Suke. She hasn’t noticed I’m touching her yet, let me enjoy this while I can.”

“I think she’s noticed now that you mentioned it, you know.”

“Wow, I didn’t know you could teleport!” Atsumi gushed at the now distant professor. 

“Akko’s parents aside, what if something else happens? I should stay.”

“Even if Croix is here, it doesn’t mean she’s betrayed you,” Hannah said. 

Chariot turned her head, tears coming to her eyes, “What else could it mean?”

“It could be a conspiracy like in Nightfall 312 where the recently paroled Edgar was committed to an asylum after his parole officer was murdered by an invisible wizard.”

“That’s completely implausible!” Hannah couldn’t stop herself from saying.

“Hey! It’s also completely implausible that Akko would fight a magic missile on the edge of space and end up stopping it, but almost the exact same thing happened in Nightfall too!” Lotte defended both her series and her friend.

Chariot shook her head. “I’m your teacher. There’s nothing I can do for Akko right now, let’s do what we can elsewhere.”

“There’s our Chariot,” Amanda said.

“That’s Professor Chariot,” she chided. “I’ve been too lax and getting myself turned around. You girls are all special to me, but I am your teacher. You can count on me.” 

“Hai, Sensei!” The girls chorused, surprisingly all mimicking Akko spontaneously.

Chariot turned to the predatory mother in the room, “We’ll figure out what’s going on out there. Please keep Akko comfortable here.”

“What about taking her to the hospital?” Atsumi asked, even though they had already gone over this before.

Chariot frowned, “If she gets any worse, then don’t hesitate, but there’s nothing they can do for her there at this point. If we can meet up with Croix,” she spared a glance towards Barbara, “And if she is still the Croix I hope she is, then she may know more and be able to help.”

“Then I will be praying you meet up with her. You girls are sure you won’t at least stay the night?”

“Diana is out there right now with Croix,” Amanda said.

“And a leyline has been severed,” Jasminka added.

Chariot nodded, “We don’t have time to spare.”

ФЖФЖФЖФЖФЖФЖФЖФЖФ

Diana’s vision narrowed to the space directly in front of each step she took. 

Her existence was occupied only by pain and the thought of Akko.

Occasionally, her thoughts would start to try to catalogue the damage of her body, but losing focus meant stumbling and stumbling meant a sharp uptick in pain that stole her ability to reason.

_ Dislocated finger. Split nails. Broken wrist. Ribs . . . probably broken. There’s a lot of blood. _ Stumble. “Ah!” Her breath escaped in an involuntary shout as she fell to her knees. 

_ Skinned knees. Bloody broken ankle. Headache.  _

Using her unbroken wrist, she twisted her arm underneath her to push herself to her feet.

_ Akko. Akko. Akko. _

Fighting off the dizziness from rising once more, she struggled on.

And on.

Hours passed. 

Her feet stopped moving. 

Confusedly, she looked around.  _ Why did I stop . . . Kagari? _

Following the directions of Akko’s middle school friends, Diana had waveringly reached her objective. “Akko.”

Tears flowed freely at the thought of being able to see Akko again. 

She lifted her hand to push the buzzer, narrowly avoiding her broken index finger, she pushed the buzzer with her remaining strength. 

“Excuse me. My name is Diana Cavendish. I apologize for my sudden intrusion on your home and my disheveled appearance. I would very much like to speak with Miss Akko Kagari.”

She breathed out, releasing the button on the intercom. And collapsed to the ground.

ФЖФЖФЖФЖФЖФЖФЖФЖФ

Bolting awake with a groan of pain, Diana ignored the deluge of pain that was already assaulting her senses. 

“Whoa there, Diana. You’re at Akko’s. You’re safe.” Barbara’s voice greeted her.

Diana locked on to the familiar sound, “Where’s Akko? How is she?” 

Hannah and Barbara were laying on futons near Diana. Constanze had built a raised bed out of stanbots and slept soundly on the platform. Barbara woke up from Diana’s involuntary groan upon waking and instinctively moved to sooth her friend.

“Akko? Um, she’s in her room.”

“Oh thank god. Croix thought she might have been hurt.”

“Well.” Barbara didn’t know how to respond.

“Barbara, what is it?”

“She’s unconscious. She hasn’t woken up. Chariot, excuse me, Professor Chariot said a leyline was severed and she’s suffering from feeling its loss.”

Diana turned to Barbara. “Would you take me to her?”

Barbara frowned, “You need to rest. What happened to you? Did Professor Croix do that to you?”

“What? No. Last I saw Croix she was eating ramen. I came to check on Akko.”

“Then what could do that to  _ you _ ? We were really freaked out, especially Constanze.”

“Oh.” Diana’s face colored, but was thankfully hidden in the darkness of the room. “I, sort of, felloffabuilding.”

“You did what?”

“I fell off a building.” Diana ducked her head, even though every movement made her want to gasp in pain. She could feel Barbara’s stare across the dark room. “What is it? Why are you staring?”

“You’ve really been hanging out with Akko a lot. You sounded just like her just now.”

Diana colored more, “Please take me to Akko. I need to see her.”

Barbara made up her mind and stood up, “Alright, but we’re coming straight back after you see her.”

Barbara helped Diana stumble down the hall and to Akko’s room. Seeing Akko’s small form laying in a pool of moonlight in bed took Diana’s breath away. “Oh Akko,” she took tremulous steps away from Barbara and sank to the ground at Akko’s side. 

Barbara sighed in worry. Seeing the chair Atsumi had been occupying most of the day, she moved it a little closer and gently helped Diana up and to the seat. 

Diana let Barbara move her without realizing it. Her hands sought out Akko’s. Tears fell from her face. 

She did not notice when Barbara left and barely acknowledged when she returned and wrapped a blanket around her shoulders. 

“Diana?” Jolted from her reverie, Diana jerked around to see who could only be the mother of her first love standing in the door. The predawn light cast the worried mother’s features into relief.

“Ah, excuse me.” Diana struggled and rose on sheer willpower. “My name is Diana Cavendish. I am in love with your daughter. Please accept my courtship of your daughter.”

Diana bowed as low as her body could stand, but it was too low. She struggled to raise back up.

Warm arms enfolded her and helped her stand. “I had no idea my daughter was in love with such a proud, serious, young woman.”

“In love?”

“Ah, but you are dense like she is. Maybe only when it comes to her though?” At this point, the tiny mother’s arms were completely supporting Diana’s weight. Ashamed at her weakness, Diana only grew weaker the longer they stood. 

“Please accept me.”

“Oh hush, darling. Accept you? I want you to marry Akko. She’s been talking about you since her first week at Luna Nova. She couldn’t stop talking about you. You mean everything to her. Seeing the two of you fighting together against that missile and holding hands as you saved everyone—the whole world knows you two love each other. I could never reject you so long as Akko loves you like she does. Please don’t say foolish things.”

Diana began to cry. “Shh. Shh. It’s OK. You’re here now. Akko’s here. It’s only a matter of time now until Akko wakes up. You don’t have to worry.”

“Forgive me please. I was so worried and I am just so relieved now. I haven’t been held like this in quite a long time and I lost control.”

“Shh. It’s OK. As long as you love Akko, please consider yourself one of our family. Suke and I would be so proud to have you join our family.”

Diana couldn’t help but nod as she drifted off to sleep in Atsumi’s arms.

“Sasaki?” Atsumi called lightly behind her to where she knew her husband was. “Please bring a futon in here. I can’t bear to separate her from Akko again, and I don’t think she would cooperate if we put her back in the guest room.”

“Yes dear.” He returned shortly with a folded futon. Looking curiously at the blonde witch his wife was cradling, he said, “So this is our daughter’s girlfriend?”

“This is our daughter’s future wife, hun.”

“She’s only in high school, how many relationships last past high school?”

“Wanna’ bet?”

ФЖФЖФЖФЖФЖФЖФЖФЖФ

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Worth the wait? Haha, don’t answer that! Please let me know if you liked it. I promise you won’t have to wait anywhere near that long for the next chapter and any future hiatuses will be announced and hopefully at good stopping points.
> 
> Also, you may have noticed I finally figured out a good name for Akko’s father. It was getting way too obvious I was avoiding calling him anything. Going with Sasaki/Suke. Yes, this is a reference to the famous period drama Mito Koumon. In that, Sasaki and Atsumi complement each other as retainers of Mitsuemon (although those are their last names).


	17. Episode 05: Tremors: Part III

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi everyone!
> 
> You may be noticing that this is Part III and be wondering where Part II is. Welp, it went a little past the T rating of the rest of the story. Instead of changing the rating for the entire story, I posted it separately. 
> 
> It’s titled “Our Magic! M Chapters”. I don’t intend to do this regularly, but I approach writing with a “here’s the scenario, let the characters react naturally and let’s all watch what happens” so it’s about as much a surprise to me when stuff happens as it is to you and I can’t guarantee it won’t happen again; I’ll just do my best to make it be as skippable as possible if and when it does.
> 
> If you’re concerned about reading it (because it does contain some triggering moments), please feel free to message me with your questions and I will spoil it for you. The parts of that chapter that are not about Croix being in the clutches of Ana I’ve posted here as well, but you may be left wondering what happened to Croix if you only read those.

Our Magic!   
Episode 05: Tremors

Part II Scenes

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“The spirits didn’t know anything we didn’t know already,” Lotte began.

“Even Takeminakata?” 

“Him and the rest of the great spirits are gone.”

“Then the only thing we can do now is find Croix,” Amanda said while eyeing their professor.

“If it’s Croix, she can probably figure something out,” Sucy agreed in a rare cooperative tone.

Jasminka hmmed and said, “She’s one witch I am glad is on our side.”

The downcast professor shook her head, “I realize what you all are doing. You don’t need to. You are correct that we should find Croix as our next step, but we also need to sleep. The Kagaris cannot really hold all of us, so let’s set up at a hotel farther into the city, get some rest, and then plan our search for my—for Croix.”

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Jasminka hmmed to announce her presence to Amanda, who was reclining in the large recessed window of one of their hotel rooms. “She left then?”

Amanda looked up from watching the outside. “Yes. Gone to find her girlfriend, I’m sure. She just crossed the street now.”

Jasminka sat in the chair next to the window and proffered the bag of cookies in her hands. Amanda waved her hands in denial, causing Jasminka to frown. “It’s not good to go without eating, Amanda.”

“I just don’t feel like eating right now. Why doesn’t Chariot want us with her? She knows that Diana is out there too, not just Croix. It’s kinda’ selfish, dontcha’ think?”

Jasminka shook her head. “I think she’s trying to be selfless right now. She meant it when she said we need to rest. We are all exhausted. Traveling is exhausting on its own, but first Akko collapsing and now all of this. Everyone’s tired.”

“I’m not.”

Jasminka smiled sadly, “Amanda.”

“I’m not. I’m not. I’m not.”

“I think you are very brave, Amanda. It’s one of the reasons I agreed to make you the leader of our team. Not just because of Constanze’s shyness and that I work better in the background. Being a leader suits you. It helps you make the right decision.”

“What if I don’t want to make the right decision?” Amanda turned away to look out at the city again.

“Then I would support you even if you did that,” Jasminka smiled. “But I don’t think you’ll do that.”

“I want to. I want to so badly,” Amanda whispered.

“I know, hun. I know.” Jasminka set aside her cookies and joined Amanda in the recessed window. Amanda threw herself into Jasminka’s arms. “There, there. Everything will be daijoubu.”

“Daijoubu?” Amanda asked between sobs.

“I was trying it out since we’re in Japan? Doesn’t suit me?”

Amanda laughed as she was crying, and shook her head in Jasminka’s chest. “Not at all!”

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Chariot was frantic.

It was like a part of her that should be there, wasn’t there. Her hand had been cut off, or her heart had been gouged out. Where is it? Is it here?

_ Croix. _

They say the fastest speed a human can run is 28 miles per hour and only for a few seconds. 

Chariot was a witch. 

She zoomed through the city with her magical senses on wide alert, exerting all of her power to find the hint of the one she loved. 

Already finding Diana and realizing she was safe at the Kagaris, but in no shape to speak, she continued her search for her love. 

_ Croix. I’ll find you. Why are you here? How can I help you? I love you. I need you. Come back to me. Don’t ever leave me again. I don’t care what the world wants. I just want you. _

Ana observed her from a distance and smiled as she listened to her thoughts.

ФЖФЖФЖФЖФЖФЖФЖФЖФ

Chariot returned before dawn to the hotel rooms. Exhaustedly, she sprawled out on a lounge chair. 

“Professor?” Lotte asked concernedly. 

“Oh, Lotte? You’re up already?”

“I had a hard time sleeping. Everyone wondered where you went.”

“I’m sorry, but knowing Croix was out there, I couldn’t stop myself from looking.”

Lotte pondered Chariot’s actions, “So when you were originally reluctant to leave Akko . . .” 

“Yes. I probably would have gone out looking on my own just like now.” She added bitterly, “And been just as ineffectual.”

“Did you find anything out?”

“Diana has returned and is with Akko, but she looked like she’d been pretty beaten up. We should go back and check on her sometime today.”

“And about Professor Croix?”

Chariot sighed wearily, not letting herself cry but not being able to prevent her eyes from moistening, “I couldn’t find her. I hope she’s OK.”

ФЖФЖФЖФЖФЖФЖФЖФЖФ

End of Part II Scenes

Part III

Diana was shaken awake, and not by someone’s hand. The vibrations of the minor earthquake made themselves known on her bruised body in an unpleasant manner. Her eyes snapped open to be confronted with a vision of loveliness. 

Akko.

Sleeping next to her. 

Akko. 

In the futon with her on the ground.

Akko was sleeping with her.

She clamped her own hands over her mouth to keep herself from screaming in surprise as she hauled her aching body up and away from the literal girl of her dreams.

Looking around frantically, she was confronted with another shock. 

A leering Atsumi Kagari. “Fufufu, just what do you think you are doing with my daughter?”

“I don’t know how this happened!” Diana responded in a furious whisper, desperate to explain herself and simultaneously not disturb Akko’s rest.

“It certainly looks like you pulled Akko down to sleep next to you after we were kind enough to bring you a futon,” Atsumi hid her mouth behind her hand as she insinuated the kind of deeds Diana committed.

“No! I would never do that to Akko!”

Disappointed with that response, Atsumi replied, “Oh? I thought you were in love with my daughter?”

“I am in love with Akko!” Diana tersely replied at a volume approaching a shout.

Atsumi gave a genuine smile and nodded her head at the figure behind Diana, “You’re welcome.”

Atsumi turned on her heel and marched herself out of the room, bowling over the group of her husband, Constanze, Hannah, and Barbara that were crouched outside listening, and herding them away as she shut the door. Diana stared at her retreating back aghast, “Wha . . . ?”

The truth dawned on her tired brain slowly as she tentatively turned around to see a wide-eyed grinning Akko desperately clutching her hands together in an attempt to not roll around in pure glee. “What?”

“DAI-AAAAAA-NAAAAAAAA,” the tiny brunette wailed in happiness but the expected tackle-hug never came. 

“A~ko?” Diana sat with her back straight and her hands laid in her lap as she struggled to process the course of events. “I thought you were—”

“I ‘oke up dis mor-ning,” Akko explained through her tears.

Diana could not resist Akko’s crying face any longer and immediately used her sleeve to wipe away Akko’s tears. Once properly scrubbed, Akko sniffled. “I. I suppose you heard my words to your mother?”

Akko nodded, but stayed silent.

“And,” Diana’s voice broke as she continued, “And I suppose I can take the fact that you are sitting there and not sitting here as your true feelings?”

“Huh?” Akko asked confused, staring at Diana who was sitting literally a foot away from her still in the same futon.

Diana could not stop the tears that came, but she tried to stem them with her dampened sleeves. “I--I just mean. Any other time you would have tackled me and started-started kissing me.” She repeated herself, “You are still sitting there and not sitting here.”

Diana gestured to her own body as she finished. “Oh?” Akko’s face lit up in realization, “OH!”

The bruised and battered body of Diana collided with the ground for the second time in 24 hours. She could not stop herself from grunting in pain. Akko froze atop her. “This is why I didn’t glomp you, you, you IDIOT.”

Diana slim hands reached around to encircle Akko’s back. Her arms tightened and her left hand clutched onto Akko’s hair. “So-so-I can take the fact that you are sitting,  _ here _ . Here in my arms to mean—”

Akko shook her head in wonder, “I love you. I love you even when you’re stupider than I am. Even when you fall off buildings and walk across the city to come see me. Even when you stay up all night by my bedside when you should be resting. I love you, I love you, I love you.”

Diana smiled and cried, “I love you too.”

Akko’s bright eyes and brighter smile lit up her world, “Not as friends.”

“What?” Diana asked in wonder.

“I love you. Not as friends. I love you.” At Diana’s questioning gaze, Akko rushed over her words, “I mean, I still love you as a friend too, but I love you a lot more than that.”

Diana grinned and couldn’t resist teasing her, “As best friends?”

“No!” Akko shouted in horror, “No! I mean, yes as best friends too. But I love you.” She threw her head back to stare at her ceiling, “UGH, it’s not coming out right!”

“Akko?” Diana pulled her attention back to her. “Will you be my girlfriend?”

“YES! THANK GOD!” Her groan of relief was accompanied by Diana’s happy smile. Akko fixated on Diana’s lips and slowly descended to seize her lips for her own.

“Knock knock lovebirds,” Atsumi’s brash announcement was preceded by her entrance to the room. 

“MOM OHMIGOD, actually knock!”

“Excuse me? I think I did a pretty good job of letting you SLEEP WITH YOUR GIRLFRIEND already today. I think you can excuse me from opening a door in my own house.”

Diana and Akko both turned 1000 degrees with their blushes.

“You two are too cute. But if you’ve both worked everything out, then I think we should do what we talked about already.”

“Oh, the hospital!”

Diana turned solemn eyes on her, “That’s right, Akko. You just woke up this morning, but you were unconscious for an entire day. We should get you checked out. I’d like to examine you back at my home, but failing that, we should rely on the medical science of your people.”

“You-you’d like to examine me?” Akko asked flatly. 

“Akko!” her mother’s tsukkomi snapped her back to the present. 

“Oh, yeah, but you know, it’s a magical thing with me? So I don’t really need to go to the hospital. We’re taking  _ you _ to the hospital.”

“Me?”

“Yes, you definitely have some broken bones, dear. Even if Akko hadn’t woke up today, we were already talking about taking you, but now that Akko is back with us, there’s no reason we shouldn’t go.”

“I do not need to go to the hospital.”

Atsumi merely raised an eyebrow at her declaration, but Akko was adamant. “Hey! There can only be one idiot per relationship and I already have that job!”

“Akko! You are  _ not _ an idiot!” Diana refuted her immediately and loudly before Atsumi could say anything. 

“Then if I’m not an idiot, you can’t be one either! You’re going to the hospital and that’s final.”

“That’s final?” Diana was many things, but used to taking orders was not one of them.

Atsumi gestured for Akko to come to her and Akko reluctantly separated from Diana and walked to her mom. Atsumi bent over and whispered in her daughter’s ear and Akko’s eyes lit up. 

“I do not think I approve of this blatant collusion in front of me.”

Akko bounced back to Diana and plopped herself down on the floor in front of her. “Oh, Diana?” She smiled at her as she peered up at the blonde witch.

“Y-yes, Akko?”

“Will you please go to the hospital?” She blinked rapidly and Diana realized she was trying to flutter her eyelashes, “For me?”

“Oh, bloody hell.”

ФЖФЖФЖФЖФЖФЖФЖФЖФ

“This is the place?” Sucy asked questioningly. 

“Hannah said Diana said Croix said she would be eating here every night,” Amanda recounted. 

Chariot looked at the ramen sign and let herself smile, “Of course it’s a place like this.”  _ Croix, I am going to squeeze you to death for making me worry. _

Constanze and Hannah had stayed behind at the Kagari’s again, but this time in order to keep an eye on the house while Akko, Diana, and her parents were at the hospital. Barbara and Lotte were at their second base of the hotel rooms waiting for the others’ successful return. 

That left Sucy, Amanda, Jasminka, and Chariot to go retrieve Croix. Their mood was jovial now that Akko had woken up and Croix was up to her usual ramen-eating antics. 

“Hmm, but shouldn’t Professor Chariot have found her last night if she’s just eating ramen all day?”

Chariot frowned slightly, but shook off the negative thoughts, “Croix is a master witch that knows magic I’ve never even thought of. It’s not a surprise that she could hide herself in some way that I could not find her.”

Sucy asked mercilessly, “But why would she hide herself from you?”

“I don’t know, but I intend to ask her. Let’s go get her.”

Chariot took the lead and forcefully walked inside, quickly asking the hostess and unerringly walking to the private room she indicated. The other girls hurried to keep up. 

Chariot slammed the sliding door hard enough to jolt it off its rails and stepped inside quickly. At the sight of Croix sitting there she sighed and slumped in relief. “Croix, I was so worried.”

Croix looked up with haunted eyes and Chariot saw the many wounds and bruises on her exposed skin. She stepped to close the distance between them. “No, please, no. Not this again.”

“Croix?” Chariot stopped herself from stepping closer, “What?”

“Look, whoever you are. If you’re here to torment me, then just drop the act. If you’re not, then you need to get away.”

“Professor? What’s going on?” Amanda asked as she peered around the statue that was Chariot at Croix.

“No, you brought the girls.” Croix shuddered in fear, “Chariot, you need to get them away from here. Immediately.”

“Croix, what’s going on?”

“Listen to me! She’s too powerf—”

“Greetings, my darlings. Aw, and I was so hoping that the pretty blonde one would be coming,” the sexy, smooth voice dripped with malice enough to take everyone aback. From the corner of the room, Ana stood. Everyone blinked, unsure if she had been there the entire time.

At her appearance, Croix’s visage hardened, “Chariot, get out of here!”

“Girls, leave now,” Chariot ordered, pulling forth her wand and raising her arm between the girls and Ana.

“Professor, I’ll stay and help,” Jasminka stepped forward. 

With her free hand, Chariot snagged Jasminka’s arm and pulled. Jasminka tried to resist, but stumbled. “Croix said to go. Go. Protect the other girls.”

Chariot pushed and Jasminka stumbled back towards Amanda and Sucy. She stared from her arm to Chariot and back as though she could not believe what just happened. Amanda nodded in resolution and laid her hand on Jasminka’s shoulder, “Come on, we need to go.”

“Yes, my darlings. Run along. I’ll catch up to you shortly.”

“Chariot’s going to kick your ass, lady,” Amanda called out to her over her shoulder. After motivating Jasminka to move, her and Amanda had their hands full pulling a shuddering Sucy from the door.

Chariot stood immovable and resolute as she stared down the raven-haired temptress in front of her. The blare of the fire alarm echoed throughout the room and Chariot disappeared from sight, reappearing before drop-kicking the witch in front of her in the chest, knocking her through the thin wall and into the next room. 

Realizing Amanda or one of the other girls must have pulled the alarm, she rushed to Croix and began pulling her along. Croix was dazed and making things difficult. “This can’t be real. She wouldn’t give up so easily. This isn’t real.”

She came to her senses to pull back from Chariot. “Croix, what the hell?”

“I don’t know who you are, but I won’t let you take me again.”

“Croix? What did she do to you?”

“You! You did this to me!” Croix reached out and slapped Chariot across the face. 

The lilac-haired witch’s slap stung worse than being hit by a dragon. “Croix? Croix, I’m sorry. I don’t know what I did, but I should have been there for you.”

“Chari?” Croix let Chariot pull her close.

Chariot embraced her. “Croix, I’d do anything for you. Whatever happened, I will make it right.”

Croix ducked her head, beginning to cry, “You’re going to hate me.”

“That’s impossible,” Chariot assured her simply. It had always been the truth after all.

The knife in Croix’s hands was sharp. The hot lines of pain followed by the feel of her blood dripping startled Chariot out of Croix’s arms.

“Croix?” the look of confusion and betrayal on Chariot’s face hurt more than all of the physical torture Ana had inflicted on her. “Croix, this can’t be real, right? You would, you would never hurt me?”

Croix turned away from her with a sob. The melodious laugh of evil reached them then. “I take it you are not a fan of my new servant?”

Chariot’s face twisted up into a snarl, “What have you done to her?”

“Oh? You mean this?” Croix’s hand with the knife lifted until it was perched at her own throat, “This is just a form of voodoo I picked up. There’s some pretty hefty upfront requirements, but I managed to clear them swimmingly last night. Isn’t that right, my darling?”

Croix groaned in disgust and pain and Chariot stepped in, “Stop it. Don’t you dare hurt her.”

“My, and to think that you two are Woodward’s  _ failures _ in love. I cannot wait to get my hands on the successes.”

“Stay away from Akko!” Ana turned in surprise to the shouting Croix. The declaration had bumped her throat against the knife and blood began to seep out.

“My darling, that’s about more fight than I’m willing to tolerate,” Croix opened her mouth once more, but with a gesture from Ana, her jaw snapped shut. “As you can see, I currently control Croix.”

“You might control her body, but her heart belongs to me!”

“It amazes me that you can say those things after everything.” Ana slowly walked to the captive Croix, draping herself over Croix’s back and caressing her. “But you are correct that I control her body.”

“I’m going to completely destroy you.”

“Oh? So both of you say the same thing when cornered,” Ana grinned and leaned in to kiss Croix on the cheek. Croix visibly shuddered. “But I am nothing if not fair. I gave Croix a test and she failed. We can have a bargain of our own, Chari.”

“Don’t call me that.”

“Would you prefer angel?” Ana returned. 

Chariot shook her head, “What’s that supposed to mean? Just give me Croix and you might walk out of here alive.”

“Might she says!”

“Every second you touch her makes it less likely you’ll be able to walk away.”

“This! This is  _ the  _ Chariot I wanted. This is the Chariot I needed. Where have you been? You wasted yourself on those utterly stupid shows of yours, then think you can redeem yourself working as a  _ teacher _ ?! Of all things. This is the vengeful valkyrie of the battlefield that so captivated my sister.” Ana leaned in once more and left a sensual kiss on Croix’s neck, before backing away. Croix was visibly straining to plunge the knife into Ana, but her magics held her unfailingly. 

“I think I’ll cut out your tongue first,” Chariot cracked her neck, as she prepared herself for what was to come. 

“Yes, I think that’s the best way to continue.”

“What?”

“Our bargain, weren’t you listening? Our wager. If you can defeat me, I will release Croix.”

Chariot didn’t wait to hear any more and pushed off from the ground with enough force to blast a hole into the basement. Her tightened fist lead the way into Ana’s face, deforming it around her hand as Ana was blown back. Pivoting as she landed, Chariot leapt again, this time leading with a flying kick to the still airborne witch’s stomach. 

Ana’s hands came down to grasp onto Chariot’s calf, but Chariot used them as a fulcrum to twist in midair and roundhouse kick Ana in the head, smashing her to the ground. Following her down, Chariot stayed standing and kicked her in the head again. 

Snarling in pain, Ana lashed out and slapped at Chariot’s leg still standing on her stomach, knocking her off her feet. Chariot gave in to the drop and exaggerated it, leading with her elbow straight down onto the throat of Ana. 

Gasping in pain, Ana did not have time to react as Chariot swiftly mounted her torso and began punching her repeatedly in the face. 

The once beautiful alabaster-skin of Ana turned crimson with blood and bruising, but she continued smiling. Grabbing her around the throat, Chariot began lifting her head and slamming it back into the ground. 

Finally, Ana’s swollen eyes shut completely and she fell unconscious. Croix’s hand holding the dagger slowly dropped as Ana’s magic left her body.

Lifting herself from her opponent, Chariot stood and faced Croix uncertainly.  _ Please don’t hate me,  _ Chariot thought, fearing her lover seeing her in berserkr mode.

Croix was amazed to say the least. “Remind me again how I ever thought I could fight you before?”

Chariot let out a smile, “Well, you did have a magi-mechanical dragon before.”

“Chariot,” “Croix,” they spoke at the same time. Chariot gestured for her to go ahead. “She—Ana—she really did a number on me, Chariot. I mean, I thought I was fucked before, you know?” she laughed hollowly.

Chariot frowned, turning suddenly and kicking the prone witch in the ribs. She turned back, “I don’t know what she did to you, but she can’t hurt you anymore.”

“Chari—Chariot, what. Who are you?”

“It’s me, it’s me. Your Chari. Why do you keep saying differently?”

“The Chariot I know wouldn’t kick an unconscious opponent. The Chariot I know wouldn’t—”

“Wouldn’t trust you that this thing is an evil bitch? Wouldn’t care that you’ve obviously been tortured? Maybe you’ve only seen me fight things without sentience, but I’ve fought a lot more than just that.” Chariot said dryly, recalling some of the horrors she had seen traveling the world. “If you do something like care about the person you’re fighting, then that just gives them an opportunity to hurt you. I won’t take a chance with someone that hurt the woman—hurt anyone I love.”

“I didn’t mean it like that. Chari—she . . . ”

“Whatever she did, it’s in the past now. You’re here with me. Now if you don’t stop moping and open your arms to let me hug you, I’m going to get a little upset.”

Croix looked behind her at the prone ancient evil witch with wide-eyes, “Well, I certainly wouldn’t want to make you upset.”

Croix stood up and faced her, but kept her arms wrapped around herself, “I’m not sure I’m ready yet.”

Chariot stepped up to her and stared into her eyes. “Do you want me to hug you?”

Croix shed a few tears, “I do, I do, but . . . ”

The embrace shocked her. The younger witch had completely wrapped her up, and Croix could only stand there with her arms at her sides. She gave in and settled her head into the crook of Chariot’s neck. She sighed deeply.

“I don’t know what that bitch did—”

“Shh. It doesn’t matter what she did. What matters is I’m with you now. I’m not—I’m not OK. And I’m really scared, but we’ll deal with it. I believe in you.”

“And I believe in you.”

The earthquake jostled them, but only slightly. Just enough for Croix to worm her way loose in order to return the hug. Chariot didn’t miss the tears that dampened her shirt, nor the shuddering that Croix was trying to hide from her, but she pretended to. 

“Croix?”

“Yes?”

“Is it just me or has there been an awful lot of earthquakes lately?”

“Well, we are in Japan. This is normal, isn’t it?”

ФЖФЖФЖФЖФЖФЖФЖФЖФ

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading. Please comment and let me know if you liked it. 
> 
> Also, in case you forgot from back in the first episode, this Chariot wandered the world after the whole, shooting an arrow at the moon incident and this is where she made the transition from entertainer to the badass jedi we see in the last few episodes of Season 1. She went through a lot before Holbrooke gave her a chance to come back to Luna Nova and find a new path for herself as a teacher.
> 
> I’m planning on updating every Thursday from now on. I’ve been working on an original webnovel and I’d like to start posting that on Saturdays or Tuesdays, so I think Thursdays for this would be best. I actually had Part II ready last Thursday, but because of its sensitive nature decided to wait until Part III was ready to go too. 
> 
> One more part in this episode and we can get to what should be the final or second-to-last episode in the Japan arc. Look forward to hearing from you!


	18. Episode 05: Tremors: Part IV

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Seems like the name “Miss Evil Bitch” that Astoria00 came up with for Ana is sticking. I’m not going to deny popular opinion, Miss Evil Bitch it is!
> 
> Also, I went back and re-read some of my old chapters in preparation for where the story is going from here and was horrified by all the typos and mistakes. UGH! I just get so excited when I finish a chapter that I almost immediately post it without reviewing. I haven’t been proofreading since like chapter 3. I’m sorry! I’ll try to be better but I can’t stop how excited I get!

Our Magic!  
Episode 05: Tremors   
Part IV

In her mind, Croix heard melodious laughter, and pushed herself away from Chariot in a hurry. Chariot looked at her with hurt eyes, “I’m sorry, Chari. I didn’t think.”

“It’s OK. You’ve been through a lot. I can’t even imagine.” Chariot’s eyes changed from hurt to sympathetic instantly. “You just took me by surprise.”

Laughter. Croix winced in pain, but Chariot turned to the prone body behind them. “No, you mean it’s not just in my head?”

Ana laughed heartily. “That’s pretty impressive laughing like that with a broken jaw,” Chariot taunted with a clenched fist, about to resume her beating.

“Oh, it may be a challenge for a mere human to laugh through pain, but I left my humanity behind a while ago, you know.”

“I’ll bite, just what are you then?”

“Chariot, don’t listen to her.”

“I’m your everyday faery queen, of course,” Ana rose up effortlessly like she was gliding through air, and seamlessly transitioned into a low bow. “I believe you’re familiar with my kind?”

Chariot hesitated. “Tita—”

“Unrelated.”

“Madb?”

“You’re getting warmer . . . or colder really, as the case may be.”

Chariot watched as the swollen face and dislocated jaw of the grinning bitch in front of her slowly contorted back to its perfect symmetrical form. The blood that had covered her began streaming back and pooling around her blood-red lips. Ana licked her lips sensuously. Chariot stepped backwards, closer to Croix.

“We had a deal. You said I could take Croix if I defeated you.”

“You are right of course. Only,” she held up and regarded one arm, then repeated the action with her other, examining her perfect manicured nails afterwards, “I don’t seem to be defeated now, do I?”

“Ch-ch-chari . . . ” Croix stuttered to get out her words.

Chariot almost ignored her to continue to face the enemy in front, but something in the way she said her name sounded like a desperate plea. Turning to see her lover, Chariot gasped.

A knife was held to Croix’s throat once more. And Croix was holding it. “No, no Croix. Fight it, Croix. If anyone can beat her, it’s you.”

Chariot’s words were delivered with all of her love and trust in Croix, but to the recipient they were like an assault. Croix began crying. “Y-you don’t get it, Chari. I’ve already lost.”

Chariot snarled in rage and turned back to Ana, “WHAT DO YOU WANT, YOU EVIL BITCH?!”

Ana held her hands out as though she could calm the storm inside Chariot with a gesture, “I want many things, but for now, I’ll settle for . . . you.”

“Me?”

“Yes, the former wielder of the Claiomh Solais. Arguably one of the most powerful witches in existence, that is if you don’t include existences like me of course. Although the inability to fly is an interesting handicap.”

“You want me,” Chariot struggled to understand.

“Not like that, I already had Croix for that. Come work for me. Join my coven. With your power added to mine own, we will be able to accomplish anything. Nothing and no one could possibly stand before us.”

“I—”

“I won’t even make you fight against your students. And it goes without saying I won’t make you fight against Croix, she’s already broken anyway. Come. You are the one that I want. You are the one that can complete my coven. Become a part of my family. Become my sister, nay, become my daughter.”

ФЖФЖФЖФЖФЖФЖФЖФЖФ

“Come quick! We need your help!” Amanda kicked open the door and called out to Barbara and Lotte as the door rebounded back at her face. Pushing through, Jasminka followed after her carrying Sucy on her back.

“What happened?!” Barbara shrieked.

Lotte remained standing at an inner doorway, watching the chaos with uncertainty. Sucy was shaking. Her eyes were clenched shut and her entire body was convulsing.

“She’s having a seizure! We need to take her to the hospital,” Barbara exclaimed, “Why would you come here?”

“She said to come to Lotte!” Amanda yelled back. Lotte stepped forward slightly at the sound of her name, but held back. “Lotte? What the hell?”

“I haven’t seen her do it before.”

“Do what?”

“She said it’s like a defense mechanism.”

“What is?”

“This. But it looks like she’s trying to resist it.”

“What is going on?” Barbara grabbed Lotte about the shoulders and shook her, “Speak so we can understand!”

“It’s like how a salamander loses their tail to escape from a predator.”

Something shifted under Sucy’s skin and Jasminka stepped away quickly in horror. The girls all watched as their friend came apart at the seams.

“What the hell does she have seams for?!” Amanda screamed. The momentum from dropping caused Sucy’s head to roll in Barbara and Lotte’s direction.

Barbara passed out. Sucy managed an embarrassed smile, “Sorry about this. Really.”

ФЖФЖФЖФЖФЖФЖФЖФЖФ

“So not only are you an evil bitch, you’re a psychotic evil bitch. Good to know,” Chariot sighed in frustration. She could hear Croix whimpering. “If I join you, I’ll remain myself?”

“I do not have the power to manipulate your mind.”

“And you’ll release whatever hold you have over Croix? She’ll be free?”

“I’ll release my magic. I somehow think I’ll be retaining my hold over her though. I cannot help it if she struggles to forget me this time.”

“Then I—”

“Is it fucked up that I’m feeling betrayed here?” Croix interrupted.

“Croix, I’m doing this _for_ you, not to betray you!”

“It wouldn’t be messed up for me to feel betrayed by you, Chari. I’m feeling betrayed by her. Every thing she says is an attack at me for no reason than to make me feel more hurt? And what the hell is that crap about family? Did she read my thoughts about how I feel about my family? About how you feel about family? I don’t really like using the word, but she’s definitely an evil bitch, right? Wait, we’re in Japan, so Evil Bitch-san?”

“Croix, we can talk about this after. If I don’t go with her—” The knife plunged in, cutting Croix’s throat. She crumpled to the ground. “What have you done?!” Chariot screamed at Ana and rushed to the side of her love.

The cut was ragged and bleeding profusely. “This was not me,” Ana said in disgust.

Chariot’s hands were covered in blood as she tried to stem the flow. “What the fuck do you mean it wasn’t you? This. All of this was you!”

“She attempted to take her own life to keep you from me.” She finished in a whisper, “The damn fool.”

“Will you save her? Can you save her? I’ll join you if you can save her life!” Chariot was screaming, her voice raw.

“Alas, as part of my welcome to Croix, I exhausted her body’s ability to be healed by magic. This disgusts me. I want no more part of it. Save her if you can; I will not interfere.”

In the next moment, Ana was gone. “Goddammit!”

ФЖФЖФЖФЖФЖФЖФЖФЖФ

Woodward crawled her way from the wreckage of the tower that was once her home. “That stupid bitch.” _Why are you doing this?_

The revulsion spread through Yggdrasil and hammered into the pit of Woodward’s stomach. Miasma appeared, drawing the reach of Yggdrasil further from Woodward. “No, no, no. What are they doing?”

Woodward struggled to reach through the miasma, coughing in pain. Finally, she connected and disappeared in a flash of light.

ФЖФЖФЖФЖФЖФЖФЖФЖФ

“I don’t care what it takes,” Chariot reached for the nonexistent magic around her.

“I don’t care what happens to me,” Chariot’s hands held Croix’s throat together.

“I will save this woman.” A soft glow suffused through Chariot’s hands. The light grew in time with her heartbeat.

“Chariot.” Woodward stumbled and fell to her knees across from Croix.

“Professor Woodward,” Chariot said simply, focusing most of her attention on the magics she was calling on.

“Chariot, this is forbidden.”

“Are you going to stop me?” Chariot said challengingly.

“Are you aware of the consequences?”

“I don’t give a damn about any of it. I will save Croix.”

“You weren’t able to do this even with the Claiomh Solais. How are you going to do it now?”

“I will do it. I will do anything to save her. She’s—no matter what’s happened, she’s my everything! She’s the love of my life!”

Woodward nodded. “It’s going to hurt.” She grimaced in pain as though to show the truth of her words and her hands began to glow as well. She overlaid her hands on Chariot’s above Croix’s throat.

“Professor,” Chariot said with moist eyes, “Thank you!”

“Thank me after you succeed, show I was right to believe in you and Croix all those years ago.”

Chariot nodded, then left her head down. With closed eyes and their magical senses stretched to the limit, both could feel the rising tide of magic, rising to meet Chariot’s call.

“PHA—

SA—

N—

SHEE—

RU—

SHE—

A—

RII—”

With each syllable of the ancient word of Arcturus, the tiny ramen shop was bombarded with magics. “NOW CHARIOT!” Woodward screamed for her to complete the word.

With the final syllable, Chariot had completed her heresy, “RA!”

Impossibly bright light welled up from their hands. The light encompassed all and cast no shadow. The walls of the shop could not block it.

The fifty meter tall pillar of light erupted from seemingly nothing. The magic could not even be contained within the pillar and pushed out to form a giant cross-shaped explosion of light with the tiny ramen shop at its base.

ФЖФЖФЖФЖФЖФЖФЖФЖФ

Akko was somehow skipping while pushing her girlfriend in a wheelchair. Her parents had gone on ahead to bring the car around and give the two some privacy.

“Akko, I realize you are happy to take care of me, but do you really have to hum?”

“Aww, don’t be a spoilsport, babe.”

“Babe?!” Diana shrieked and blushed.

“Ah haha. I was trying it out?” Diana hid her face in her hands. “Too soon, huh? But you’re just too pretty and you’re MY girlfriend. I’m so happy!”

Diana shook her head in her hands, trying to regain her composure, “Ahm ‘apy ‘oo”

“What was that? You sound like me when I’m talking with my mouth full.”

“Ahem!” Diana found her inner princess and announced imperiously, “I said, I am happy as well!”

“It sure sounded like you said, ‘too’, not ‘as well’.”

“If you could hear me then why did you ask what I said?”

“Because I wanted to hear you say it again?”

“You are impossible!”

Akko had discovered the greatest thing since magic: teasing Diana. Knowing that the pretty blonde witch was completely smitten with her had done wonders for her mental health, and it was impossible to resist the verbal sparring.

Of course, what Akko did not know was that it would not be much longer until Diana figured that everything she was doing would work on Akko also, but that is a story for another day.

Today, a certain former wielder of the Shiny Rod had just forcibly used the Seventh Word of Arcturus with no magic and no means to channel the powers she unleashed.

“Um, Diana?” Akko asked cautiously.

Diana instantly noticed the change in her girlfriend, and began to feel unsettled herself. “Akko? What is it? What’s wrong?”

“I-I think I need to sit down,” Akko fell against the back of the wheelchair, and Diana hurriedly stopped the wheels and engaged the wheel lock. Reaching for Akko’s hand, she helped her around and into her lap.

“Akko? Talk to me. Babe, what is going on?”

“Ah haha, you called me babe,” Akko said while wincing in pain.

Refusing to be dissuaded, Diana continued, “If you can try it, so can I! Talk to me. What is happening!”

Her shyness prevented her from repeating the moniker a second time however. Akko noticed through the pain, but chose not to comment. “I feel like I’m being torn apart.”

“Like before?” Diana asked concernedly.

“Worst than the last time,” Akko explained.

“But you are still . . .”

“Conscious?” Akko asked wryly. “You’re helping.”

“I?”

“Just being near you helps. I think that’s why I woke up before, because you were with me.”

“I thought that was just something you told your mother to convince her to let you sleep in the futon with me.”

Akko laughed and grimaced again, “Please don’t make me laugh right now.”

“What can I do?”

“Kiss me.”

“Right here? We’re in public.”

“When did that ever stop us before? It will help. I promise I’m not saying it just to get you to kiss me.”

Diana nodded, “Very well, if it will help.”

She leaned in and lightly brushed her lips across Akko’s.

“Oh, for the love of—” Akko threw her hands around the back of Diana’s head and pulled her in for a long kiss.

ФЖФЖФЖФЖФЖФЖФЖФЖФ

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! 
> 
> Originally, I had Ana winning here, but Croix really surprised me (and Ana). Especially when it led to Chariot unlocking the final Word that she could never get to before!!! I’m so excited to see what they do next!
> 
> Please expect the next chapter next Thursday! I have so many ideas for when they get back from Japan so I seriously cannot wait for them to go forward from here! I finally get to write a dating Diakko!


	19. Episode 06: Of Kami and Fey: Part I

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Holy cow this is a giant-sized chapter. I really didn’t anticipate it would get so big! AND IT’S ON FLIPPING TIME! It’s OK to praise me more! 
> 
> I super hope you all enjoy it!

Our Magic!   
Episode 06: Of Kami and Fey

On nicer days, the throne room had been awe-inspiring. Tapestries of all colors and designs adorned the high walls under vaulted windows that let in the blue moon- and star-light. By all colors, even colors humans could not see were represented. So many tapestries hung that if you were to blink, they would seem to shift around and arrange in new configurations. Lending an infinite quality to the long great hall. The ceiling reached too high to see, with crystal chandeliers reflecting the light of the moon and stars into brilliant constellations of lights.

The walls and floors were made of crystal brick; with the floors at times transparent, allowing one to gaze at the pool of multi-colored fish below. A thick, deep, red fur carpet led to an immense silver throne that capped the pathway. Covered in filigree that even the machines of humans could not replicate. This was perhaps obvious, as everything in the room had been forged from magic.

The grand portal to the room creaked open as if by magic and a brilliantly beautiful white haired witch appeared in the entryway. Although appearing slight and emaciated, her bountiful hips and chest gave her a curvaceous, vivacious appearance. She walked as though a bright neon sign saying, “Do not feed the wildlife or they will eat you” was following her around. She gasped as she took in the throne room, then hurriedly stepped aside as the one-ton throne flew through the air to crash into and through the heavy stone door she had just closed. The throne deformed to a lump of misshapen metal, its beautiful filigree littered the path.

The tapestries were in tatters, with neverending scraps floating down like falling leaves. The carpet was ripped up from the floor, its fur shed and torn asunder. The water below was boiling and a maleficent red light cast the throne room into a hellish glow.

At the foot of the dais that once held her throne, Ana sat brooding.

“Sister, what is the meaning of this?”

“Croix.” Ana spoke simply, her voice thick with emotion.

“You cannot expect me to believe that turnip defeated you?”

“She . . .”

“What? How?”

“She took her own life to deny me my prize.” Ana spit out, “I’ve lost both of them.”

“What? You mean Chariot du Nord’s lover is dead? This is wonderful!”

Ana’s tone changed from mournful to full of malice. “How. Is. This. Wonderful.”

“Are you serious? Overcome by grief, du Nord will throw herself headlong into battle and become the berserk warrior we all want her to be. Chariot du Nord is the real prize after all.”

“The witch Croix passing is of no consequence.” The low voice managed to surprise both of them as the inky darkness coalesced into a surprisingly lively beauty. The sensation of rot emanating from her contrasted with brilliant energy suffusing her body. 

Ana rose to her feet, her magics shaking the walls and driving both of her sister-witches to their knees. “It is of consequence to me!”

The newcomer began to laugh, and rocked backwards, inviting Ana with open arms and legs, “Are you finally going to take this mockery you call life from me, my  _ dear _ , _ sweet _ sister?” Her eyes filled with madness, disgusting Ana into lucidity. The insane witch could sense the change, “No? ‘Tis a pity. I crave the death only you can give me.”

“Psychotic,” the white-haired beauty spoke contemptuously.

“Oh? I know! Why not just resurrect the witch you lost?”

“That turned out so well with you,” the curvaceous white-haired witch sniped.

“No.” Ana’s violet eyes turned contemplative, “She is right.”

“Listen to yourself!”

“No.” Ana’s voice magnified, echoing and filling the infinite hall that was her throne room, “You shall listen to me!” Ana raised her arms as though addressing a great crowd, “We are not the witches we once were! Death is no obstacle. Croix is mine and she will remember that! Living or dead!”

The insane newcomer witch cackled madly, while their other sister looked on disapprovingly. 

ФЖФЖФЖФЖФЖФЖФЖФЖФ

“This is ridiculous!” Akko stormily paced around the hotel room, pointedly ignoring the beheaded Sucy feeding herself at the table and the unconscious Croix with more bandages than skin showing.

Chariot stood by, patting the air with her hands as though she could calm Akko telekinetically, “Calm down, Akko.”

“CALM DOWN! I’m supposed to be the one that gets banged up and I’m perfectly fine while my friends are literally falling apart!” In hindsight, telling Akko that Croix wouldn’t wake up no matter how loud she got was a mistake.

Diana smirked wryly from her wheelchair, “Oh? Are you saying it is inconvenient to you to see those you care about hurt and in danger?”

Akko whipped around to face Diana with a look of hurt on her face, instantly Diana’s stoic appearance softened and she lifted her arms to Akko. Seemingly teleporting across the room, Akko joined Diana in her wheelchair to sit on her lap. Akko nuzzled her head into Diana’s hair as Diana stroked her back and comforted her.

“Good grief!” Amanda said in exasperation.

Hannah stood in the empty space vacated by Akko, “Diana’s not wrong. We are all witches, there’s no reason to think you have to do this on your own, Akko . . . ”

“And it’s kinda’ rude, too,” Sucy chimed in from her place as a centerpiece on the table.

Akko slowly came back to the present from amidst the blonde waves of her girlfriend’s hair. “What?”

“It’s rude, Akko,” Lotte explained.

“I’m being rude?”

“Arrogant and rude,” Sucy said simply. Her body gestured with a spoon as she was speaking and pointed it at Akko.

“Akko,” Barbara leaned over Diana and Akko as she tried to gently explain. “You’re amazing. What you’ve been able to do since you came to Luna Nova and everything with the Shiny Rod and even since losing it. No one is denying that you would do anything for your friends.”

“Then how am I—”

“Are you saying we can’t do anything?” Amanda asked quietly, standing with her back to Akko. “That we shouldn’t try? That we should sit and wait for you to fix everything?” Amanda whirled around on Akko and finished with a growl, “That Shiny fucking Chariot should wait for you to clean up a mess?”

Akko couldn’t speak to deny her, but shook her head furiously, tears began to stream down her face. Diana held her hand up to Akko’s face, drawing her down to Diana’s level and gently kissed where her tears fell. “Akko, everyone loves you, but you need to stop thinking that you are the only one that can do anything. We are witches. Witches are meant to be feared, not sit waiting for a hero.”

“B-but look at all of you. You got so hurt.”

“Really? Why do I feel like I got ahead of everyone else?” Sucy drawled with a grin.

Lotte held her hand up to her head in exasperation at that pun. Chariot finally chimed in, “But it’s OK when you get hurt, Akko?”

“Yes! Yes, that’s it!” Akko said happy that someone  _ finally _ understood, “Yes it’s OK when I get hurt! I’m not important like you! Like Diana  _ Cavendish _ ! Like any of you! I’m just some girl that wanted to be a witch. You’re all so amazing! The world would be worse if you weren’t all in it! If there’s something I can do, let me do it! If I get to use magic and make others smile while I’m at it, then all the better! If someone is going to be hurt, let it be me!”

The “tch” of disgust resounded from several witches in the suite, while many looked away from Akko’s unbridled enthusiasm. Diana began shaking and her hands involuntarily tightened. “Eh? Diana? Diana, that’s starting to—ow, ow, Diana!”

Enraged, Diana stood and unceremoniously dumped Akko to the floor. Quivering with rage, she shouted, “You fool of a witch!” but her voice broke as she tried to continue. She turned away from Akko and moved to storm away, only to fall when she stressed her injured body too greatly.

The nearby Barbara hurriedly caught her while Akko looked on, horrified. “What? Diana? Are you OK? Why’d you get up so suddenly? You need to rest!”

Barbara shook her head in amazement at the denseness that is Akko. Diana cried into Barbara’s shirt. Hannah hurried over and helped Barbara get Diana back in her wheelchair. 

“There’s being an idiot and then there’s this,” Sucy commented in annoyance.

After whispering with Diana, Hannah announced, “We’re going to get some air.”

“I want to go, too,” Akko announced. Diana’s look of pain made her hesitate to say anything more.

“J-just stay here, Akko. Diana needs some time.”

“What sort of time? I don’t get it.”

“Please, Akko. We’ll be back,” Barbara asked. 

Akko crawled forward on the ground and raised her hand up after them as Barbara began wheeling Diana backwards. A stanbot reached out and grabbed Akko’s arm from going any farther. Akko whirled to Constanze and the diminutive witch shook her head at Akko. When the door shut after the blue team left, Akko whined, “I don’t get it!”

ФЖФЖФЖФЖФЖФЖФЖФЖФ

“Akko,” Chariot said gently, trying to shake the young witch from her torpor. Croix had finally woken briefly. They got her up and into bed with a television playing (Croix insisted) before passing out once more. Chariot returned to the main room of their suite after sitting with her. The other girls had were holed up in the second bedroom watching Constanze and Sucy playing video games. 

Akko morosely sat at the table with her head down as though she fell asleep studying.

“Ursula-sensei?” Akko asked as she slowly raised her head.

“Can we talk?”

Akko nodded, but faceplanted back onto the table, “shure.”

“Have you figured out why everyone is so angry with you, yet?”

“Because I’m rude, selfish, and arrogant?” Akko counted off, raising her hand to do so without lifting her head again.

“Are you just repeating what they said?”

Akko leapt up with sudden vigor and grabbed onto Chariot’s dress desperately, “What am I supposed to do? I just want everyone to be safe! I never thought the world was this dangerous but now that I know it is it’s up to me—”

The slap caught her by surprise turning her head to the side. It was so sudden she could almost believe it didn’t happen if it wasn’t for the stinging sensation in the shape of her teacher’s hand on her cheek that lingered. In her confusion, Chariot kneeled down and enfolded her in her arms, bringing her close in a deep hug. “Sensei? I don’t understand.”

“Akko. I’m afraid I haven’t been honest with you.” At those words, Akko involuntarily tensed up, remembering the last time her teacher wasn’t honest with you. The normally dense Chariot realized immediately she chose the wrong thing to say, “Not anything like that, Akko. I don’t have any more secret identities to share.”

Akko relaxed in her arms, “Why did you . . . ?”

“The truth is that I do not think of you as my student.”

“B-but~! I am! I am your student!” Akko protested with all her might.

“Shh. Not like that either. You are, of course, my student. You are also my precious fan that loved my shows and brought me so much happiness. But you’re something more than just that.”

“What? What am I?”

“. . .”

“Sensei? Whatever it is, please tell me! I promise I won’t hold it against you. I want to know more about you. I want to know everything about you.”

“Let’s move to the couch, Akko. Let me tell you more about myself.” The two girls moved to the sofa in the room. Chariot looked unsure of how to sit, but she took the end of the couch and faced Akko on the middle cushion with her leg crossed under her other. Akko sat completely facing Chariot with a look of expectation. Chariot gave her a gentle smile, and Akko clasped her hands in both of hers.

“Is this OK?” Akko asked.

Chariot nodded and continued, “The truth is . . .” She coughed to clear her throat, her voice hoarse with unshed tears, “I never had a mother or a father. I never had any siblings either.”

Akko’s face contorted in confusion and shock, “You’re . . .?”

“I’m an orphan.”

Akko’s eyes were wide. “No!”

“It’s OK. I’ve had a looong time to get used to it. And I know certain features about myself that are probably because of that history and try to be aware of it.”

“Certain features?”

“I-I tend to care entirely too much. It is hard for me to trust others and let them in, but once I do, I can’t stop myself.”

“That’s a bad thing?” Akko asked with her head tilted.

“It is when they hurt you,” Chariot responded at once. “When they take advantage of your unconditional love for them or when they act like they no longer care about you.”

“Like Croix-sensei?”

Chariot nodded as tears fell down her cheeks. “I put too much pressure on her, and when everything happened with the Shiny Rod, it’s no wonder she pushed me away. Who would want me?”

“That’s not true! I know Croix-sensei loves you! You two are meant to be!”

Chariot coughed to clear her throat again, “That’s not why I am telling you. Croix and I have come a long way from when we were children, but I know that I made things harder for her along the way. I’ve made things harder for you as well, Akko.”

“You’ve only ever helped me, Ursula-sensei!” Akko said with no illusions.

“Akko, when I said I don’t think of you as just a student or a fan . . .”

“Yes? Can you tell me now? I really want to know. But not if it makes you any sadder. You crying is making me cry!”

“I—Akko. I think of you as . . . I’d like to be your—” Chariot’s tears streamed down her cheeks and she became too emotional to continue.

It was Akko’s turn to wrap the other in a hug and comfort her. “Ursula-sensei, you will always be so important to me. You showed me how amazing magic is! You were there for me no matter what! You sacrificed your ability to fly to save me!”

“Akko. I don’t just think of you as a student or as a fan. I think of you as family!”

Akko froze at the declaration from her idol. Sensing how rigid she became, Chariot pulled back to look in Akko’s eyes with worry. “Akko?”

ФЖФЖФЖФЖФЖФЖФЖФЖФ

“Why is she so frustrating!” Diana finally let out her rage. She faced Hannah, who was leaning against a nearby stone halfwall and Barbara, sitting next to her in a bench. They were in a park. “Does she not know how much we all care about her? How much  _ I _ care about her?”

Hannah thought about it and frowned before answering, “Probably because of witches like me that did nothing but put her down and try to make her feel worthless.”

Barbara blanched at the thought, “And me . . . and Professor Finneran.”

“Yeah, definitely Professor Finneran. She kinda’ sucks, doesn’t she?”

Diana shook her head, “That has nothing to do with the present. We are her friends. Does that mean nothing to her?”

Hannah leaned forward and put her hand on the sitting Diana’s shoulder, “It’s not like you can just immediately forget the past. Even after we realized how important she is to you and how special she is both as a witch and a friend, it still took us weeks before we felt comfortable enough to sit with her at lunch. And that’s on our side. I’ll admit she pranked us good a few times, but she never made us feel like we were worthless, not like we did to her.”

“I just want her to know how much I care for her.”

Barbara nodded, “It will just take time. If it wasn’t for all this crazy stuff that’s been happening, it’s not like this would have come to a head so soon. She might have been able to get past this without us even realizing she felt this way.”

Hannah looked at Barbara with love in her eyes, “Right, we just need to make sure we are there for her.” She turned to Diana, “And that means you need to make sure you don’t go full princess and storm off on her.”

“Ex-cuuuuse me?”

“Yeah, that right there,” Hannah said blankly.

Diana frowned and thought of her actions, “Oh no, what have I done?”

“You mean, besides not having a healthy way to deal with emotions you’re feeling from your self-destructive girlfriend that thinks she’s some sort of Supergirl?” Barbara commented, trying to get Diana to realize what was going on in her own head.

“This is—this is unforgivable. What if I hurt her when I . . . ” the memory of dumping her on the ground stopped her cold.

“That probably did not make her feel like she exactly matters enough to not go out and try to kill herself in the next magical emergency, either,” Hannah did not hold back.

“Why did you let me leave like this?” Diana slammed her fists down on the armrests of her wheelchair.

Barbara sighed resolutely, “Because you both needed the time. You leaving is probably the best thing to get Akko to think about the things she was saying—the things she was planning on doing—even if you were sending mixed feelings with the way you left. I know that just the thought of Hannah crying is enough to drive me mad, so her seeing you crying and needing to get out of there is probably making her think about it a lot more than otherwise.”

“And you need to learn more about yourself too, Diana.” Hannah commented. “With emergencies it’s fine to smash in and take charge like the excellent witch you are. We all trust your judgement when it comes to magic.”

“When it comes to magic?”

“You’re shit when it comes to feelings,” Hannah continued.

Diana reeled back from the unexpected vulgarity from the aristocratic witch. Barbara hastened to explain, “We are so happy that we are your friends, Diana. We always admired you and looked up to you, and knowing how beautiful your heart is, how determined you are to do right by your family and for all witches, it’s awe-inspiring.”

“But?”

“But you’re shit when it comes to feelings,” Hannah repeated unhelpfully.

“We are your first friends, and even then you never truly became connected to us until after Akko dragged you back to Luna Nova. You always kept yourself at a distance.”

“That was not my intent! I always wanted to—”

“We know, Diana,” Hannah calmed her.

“But I am . . .”

“Shit. Yeah,” Hannah repeated while Barbara rolled her eyes at the choice of words.

“I am shit when it comes to feelings,” Diana repeated softly to herself.

“You’re just inexperienced. You don’t know any better. You’ve never had these sort of relationships before,” Barbara tried to console her.

“That is no excuse. I have read about friendships and relationships in books! I need to try harder.”

“Trying harder is just half of it,” Hannah said.

“You need to communicate,” Barbara asserted.

“I need to communicate,” Diana repeated.

“That’s the secret to every relationship!” Hannah said happily, “Even one with a total nutbar like Akko.”

Diana nodded, accepting their advice and continuing to think about it. “Hannah. Barbara.”

“Yes?” they answered in harmony.

“You two are my closest friends. I may not show it, but I care so much for you both. I am so happy—”

Diana’s words were cut off as the two descended on her for a tight group hug.

“Tch ow ow ow,” Diana complained.

“Hey!” Hannah said as she pulled back, “You didn’t complain at all when Akko was hugging you.”

“I am practicing communicating more?”

ФЖФЖФЖФЖФЖФЖФЖФЖФ

“Akko?” Chariot hung her head in defeat. “I’m sorry. That was incredibly unprofessional of me.”

The older witch began to pull away from her student. Shaking Akko from her thoughts, “No!” Instantly, Akko through herself back into Chariot’s arms. “I could never hope to be so important to you! You just took me by surprise.”

“What?” Chariot said in disbelief.

“It’s just that I sort of maybe had a kinda’ y’know crush on you so I really didn’t know how to react,” Akko confessed.

“What?” Chariot repeated herself, her face turning red at the same rate as she comprehended the brunette’s words.

Akko stared at her and began to turn red at the same rate. 

At about the time Chariot fully resembled the color of her hair, she finally reacted, “Akko! I’m your teacher!”

“ _ Now _ you’re my teacher, but you used to be this super-hot gay idol!”

“What is that supposed to mean?!”

“I didn’t mean you’re not hot now!”

“That’s not the part I was asking about!”

“You’re Shiny Chariot! Of course I had a crush on you! Everyone had a crush on you! Even Diana had a crush on you!”

“DIANA?!” Chariot shrieked horrified, “It’s a pure show about how a believing heart is your magic! There’s no gayness!”

“IT WAS TOTALLY SUPER GAY IN THE BEST WAY! Because YOU were in it and YOU were amazing and standing up in front of everyone being as gay as you are!”

“I’m not gay!”

“Oh, come on!”

“I’ve only ever loved Croix!”

“Croix’s a girl!”

“That’s besides the point!”

“I’m telling you that everyone knew you were gay the entire time! I knew you were gay before I knew I was gay!”

“I don’t understand what is happening!”

“You were such a role model to me my entire life!”

“I thought you loved magic, not me!”

“I always loved magic! That was before I knew I was gay! After knowing I was gay, I realized how much I loved YOU!”

“I don’t think of you that way at all!”

“You don’t have to return those feelings! I’m in love with Diana! I’m just saying I had a crush on you so I felt a little crushed to know you think of me as family!”

“What!”

“I know it doesn’t make sense!”

“Ahem,” the two screaming witches shrieked “ACK” and recoiled from the intruding voice. 

Croix leaned against the wall and grinned bemusedly at them. “You know some people are trying to sleep here?”

Croix sauntered over to the two. Chariot’s eyes narrowed as she regarded her lover, realized the saunter was hiding the pain she still felt, and chose not to point it out. Croix sat on the other side of Akko and lay her hand around Akko’s shoulders. 

“It’s OK that you had a crush on Chariot.”

“What?” Akko and Chariot said in harmony. 

“It’s fine. It’d be strange if you didn’t have a crush on Chariot. In hindsight, part of the reason I was so annoyed with Chari’s magic shows back then was because I wanted her all to myself.” Chariot eeped at that revelation and began to blush again. “Seriously, Chari? You’re almost thirty, you don’t need to blush at everything.”

“Whaaaaaaat?! Why would you bring up my age! And it’s your fault I’m blushing!”

“Aaaanyway, Chariot’s amazing. And she’s beautiful. Everyone should have a crush on her at some point,” Akko nodded enthusiastically in agreement while Chariot continued short-circuiting. “And it’s not like you still have a crush on her.”

Akko stopped nodding and suspiciously looked away. “R-r-riiiight. That’d be totally horrrrrrible.”

Croix sighed exasperatedly as she understood Akko’s deflections immediately. “Still?”

“I-I-I mean, w-when I think of her as  _ the  _ Shiny Chariot, err, I sometimes maybe think that way . . .” Her voice got tinier and tinier as she continued. 

“And that’s why you cling to calling her Ursula-sensei?”

“No! Well, partly,” Akko hung her head in shame.

“Don’t be ashamed about who you like, but that’s your crush, right? How do you think about her as a person?”

“I love her!” Akko answered immediately. Croix responded with a grin and lifting her eyebrows, waiting for Akko to realize she was being obtuse in her wording. Akko immediately started backpedaling, “I-I-I mean! She’s seriously incredible! I feel so safe when I am with her like I could do anything. She’s like a less embarrassing version of my mom like she’s my older sister that loves and believes in me and I want to live up to her expectations without annoying her too bad!”

Croix smiled and looked at the still short-circuiting Chariot, “You see? She thinks of you as family too.”

Chariot came back to herself, “R-really, Akko? You’re not just saying what you think I want to hear?”

“Of course not! I’m too stupid to lie like that!”

“Stop that at once!” Diana shouted from the opened door to the suite. 

“Ack! Hide me!” Akko dove behind Chariot as Diana wheeled herself in with Hannah and Barbara close behind. Akko peered out at the no-nonsense expression of her girlfriend from behind her idol.

“A~ko!” Diana calling her name was like an order from a queen, and Akko slowly crawled out from behind Chariot. Diana took a deep breath and slowly continued, “When you put yourself down like that, it hurts us.”

“What?”

“When you think that you are worthless or less important than us: we all love you and care about you,” Diana’s composure broke and she exclaimed in a rush, “And that sort of thing pisses me off! I cannot bear the thought of you throwing yourself into danger anymore than you can bear the thought of me doing that, but I trust you and love you and really, really, really want to squeeze you to death and keep you from ever having to experience pain but when you have to experience it I am going to be there right next to you! And whenever I can I am going to lock you up and keep everyone else from being anywhere near you because you make me f-feel these things that I cannot understand and my heart is going to burst and I just want you to understand how much it hurts to see you not value yourself!”

Diana could not hold back her tears. Everyone looked at her in astonishment. Sucy with her head finally reattached smirked and commented, “That was a lot of run-on sentences from Miss Always-speaking-perfect-English.”

Lotte smacked Sucy from behind in the shoulder to tell her now was not the right time for the usual snark, and Sucy’s head fell off her shoulders to be caught in her hands. “Not again!”

Ignoring the peanut gallery, Akko slowly crawled towards Diana, “Di-Diana. I’m so sorry! I knew you cared about me, but I didn’t think—”

“Think! You’re not stupid! We all believe in you, but you cannot keep throwing yourself into danger without a plan, without believing in us to back you up! And you cannot think so little of us that we cannot make decisions for ourselves either!”

“Diaaaana!” Akko cryingly leapt into a hug. The two wheeled backwards from the momentum. 

Hannah nudged Barbara and gestured towards the two with her eyes as if to say, “Where’s the complaining about her injuries now?”

Barbara rolled her eyes at her girlfriend. 

“Anyway,” Croix continued, “For the record, I think of you as an annoying niece or step-daughter or something.”

“Croix-sensei?” Akko exclaimed. 

“Well, if you’re family to Chari, then you’re family to me too, you know?”

“Croix-sensei! Ur-ursula-ursula-neechan!” Akko sobbed as she transferred her ministrations from Diana to the two older witches. The hug was enough to cut off their airflow, but the suffix on Ursula’s name meaning “older sister” drove Chariot to tears also.

“Thank you, Akko,” Chariot managed to choke out.

“I’m so sorry I was being so stupid that you slapped me!” Akko murmured as she nuzzled her head into the shoulders of the two women.

“You did  _ WHAT _ ?” Diana asked frostily.

“Hey! Don’t be mean to Ursula! You threw me on the ground!”

Barbara sighed in exasperation, “Does nobody have proper coping and communication techniques?!”

ФЖФЖФЖФЖФЖФЖФЖФЖФ

Croix explained what she could about her capture without going into specific details. Chariot and Akko comforted her whenever it seemed like it was too hard for her to continue, and Chariot had already guessed at what Croix was hiding from the younger witches and agreed with the decision to not share everything.

Croix was crying when she finished, but somehow looked less haggard than she did earlier. “So what exactly happened then after that evil bi—excuse me, evil witch left you to die?”

“Something I didn’t think ever would happen,” Chariot said reluctantly. “I reached for the magic and unlocked the seventh word without the Shiny Rod.”

“The Claiomh Solais,” Croix corrected.

“ _ The. Shiny. Rod. _ ” Akko emphasized each word to the lilac-haired witch as though she were the student and Akko the teacher.

“And that’s it? The seventh word was able to restore Croix-sensei?” Akko asked intently.

“It was more like it undid what had happened. Instead of healing her, it reversed the damage.”

“ALRIGHT!” Akko stood up suddenly and prepared to summon forth her ethereal Shiny Rod. 

“Akko! What are you doing?” Lotte asked while the headless body of Sucy tugged Akko back into her seat. Jasminka rushed over and held her down into her chair, and finally a stanbot climbed up and sat in her lap.

“Ack! You guys! I’m going to use the seventh word to heal Diana!”

“What?” everyone chorused.

“I mean, obviously I tried to heal her with Lyonne already. As soon as I woke up and saw her lying there hurt I tried. Over and over and over and over again! It didn’t work! Well, the first time it worked a little bit, but only barely! My mom was f--reak--ing out and I convinced her to let me sleep with Diana to recharge my Dianabtanium *cough cough* I mean recharge my magic!”

“Akko!” Diana pouted, “I thought you had enough sense to not try something like that so soon after waking up from a coma! And what do you mean Dianabtanium?! I am not a mineral!”

“When I think of you I can cast magic no matter where I am! You’re my happy thought!”

Amanda fell backwards in surprise from the chair she was leaning back in and Sucy groaned in exasperation. “You really went with the happy thought thing from when you were trying to fly again?”

“It worked! When I think of Diana it’s like my bond with Yggdrasil is stronger and I can channel magic no matter what! I can do it here in Japan, I did it on the plane ride here too. As long as I’m thinking of Diana, I can cast magic. So of course sleeping in the same bed as her would help me even more!”

“YOU SLEPT IN THE SAME BED?!” several voices shouted at once, causing Diana to begin to blush furiously. 

She tried to cover, “Let us put that aside for now. Akko, please do not use your magic to heal me. It is not necessary at the moment. There is no emergency that requires me to be running around and I will be fine in a matter of a couple weeks. Next, the question comes to what happened to you, Miss Manbavaran, err—Sucy.” Diana did not know where to look, at the body next to Akko or the head being held up by Constanze. 

“I fell apart.”

Everyone’s head hit the table at that declaration. “O-obviously you fell apart, Suce. Why did you fall apart? Just from seeing that Ana bi-witch?” Akko asked.

“She’s a faerie queene,” Sucy said dryly. “I haven’t seen a faerie queene for, well, it’s been a while. I wasn’t prepared for the sheer terror of seeing one in the flesh.”

“How could you tell she was a faerie queene?” 

“Well, obviously I’m not human, you know?” Sucy waited for a reaction, but apparently everyone had already figured that out. A few seconds passed before Sucy finally started to give up and was about to continue.

“WAIT?! WHAT?!” Akko shrieked.

“There it is,” Sucy chuckled.

“Akko, she already told us she wasn’t completely human. Her grandmother, remember?”

“Ohhh yeah!” Akko exclaimed. “Well that explains your hair color I suppose.” 

Akko looked intently at Barbara, then Constanze, then Jasminka, then finally Amanda. “WAIT! There’s lots of people with strange hair colors! Are you all not human?!”

Lotte sighed in spite of being used to it, “Akko, it’s not the hair color, but more like the fact that her limbs and head are detachable that has to do with the fact that she’s not entirely human.”

“Ohh, that makes sense.” Akko agreed.

“Anyway, a faerie queene has more power than even Akko did when she was wielding the Claiomh Solais,” Croix subtly shot Sucy a thumbs up for her word choice, “And they don’t have morals like you’re used to. They can do anything they want. They’re beyond selfish and do whatever amuses them. Some people say they cannot tell lies, but that is itself a lie since they can believe their own reality. ”

“Ana was a faerie queene, huh?” Croix turned it over in her head. 

Chariot nodded, “I could tell also. And she also said she was one . . .” She added as an aside.

Everyone’s head hit the table again upon the realization that Chariot casually forgot to include that information. “Did she identify herself in anyway beyond ‘Ana’?” Diana asked. Akko stared at Diana making the “jiii” sound. “What! What is it, Akko?”

“Are you annoyed that her name ends the same as yours?”

“What! Of course I am not!”

“Her name doesn’t even end that way, it’s only you that pronounces her name that . . . Ohhhhh,” Sucy started before she figured it out halfway.

“What are you all thinking?” Diana asked in a fury.

Barbara began to laugh, and the rest quickly joined in. Croix faked a chuckle, and Chariot squeezed her hand, which she had been holding for a while now without realizing. Her eyes were full of support and love.

“Back to my question!” Diana shouted.

Akko backed her up, “Yeah! Back to my girlfriend’s question!”

“Akko,” Diana said softly, “It is somewhat embarrassing for you to call me that when it was because of you that we got so derailed already.”

“What?! You don’t like being called my girlfriend?!”

“I LOVE BEING CALLED YOUR GIRLFRIEND!” Diana refuted. “Ahhh,” she felt beaten down from the pressure of everyone’s stares. “I do not know what I am saying.”

“That’s OK, Diana! I never know what I’m saying,” Akko reassured her. Diana nodded in thanks, but looked like she still was pretty confused by the entire exchange.

Sucy finally continued, “So there is no doubt that she is a faerie queene.”

“She said she is related to Madb,” Chariot offered.

“The Queene of Winter,” Croix said pensively. “I cannot imagine anyone that Winter would ally themselves with.”

“Wait, why does it seem like I’ve heard that name before?” Akko asked. 

“Even I’ve heard that name,” Amanda began, “She’s famous.”

“So this faerie is someone famous? Like Shiny Chariot?”

A stanbot spoke up, “No, like legendarily famous. Like Freyja or Odin.”

“Or Dracula and Carmilla,” Jasminka helpfully offered.

“Oh,” Akko said thoughtfully. 

“Akko?” Diana asked.

“Yes, Diana?”

“What are you thinking?”

“It’s probably nothing.”

“Out with it shortie!” Amanda shouted across the table. 

“Ack! Why shortie?! Not everyone is freakishly tall like you!”

“Freakishly tall?! I’m 5’6”!”

“What does that even mean?! No one knows what you’re talking about!”

“Five foot six inches!”

“You’re in Japan, you crazy American!”

“I’m only a couple inches taller than you!”

“What does that mean? Are you a meter taller than me? 20 centimeters? No one knows!”

Constanze held up a sign saying, “6 cm”.

“Oh, that’s not very much different at all,” Akko said, dejected. 

“You’re impossible!”

“Why do you seem so much taller?!”

“I’ve got long legs!”

Having completely distracted everyone, Akko settled back down. “Will you tell us what you were thinking now, Akko?” Jasminka asked.

“Oh, I was just thinking she’s probably someone like Morgana le Faye.” Complete silence greeted her. “See, that’s why I didn’t want to say anything.”

“What makes you think  _ Ana _ is . . . ” Chariot trailed off as just saying her fake name started to convince her.

Akko started ticking off points, “Well, the name she gave was Ana. Sucy said they’re super selfish and arrogant. If I was super egocentric, I wouldn’t bother with a fake name, just call myself something like A-chan.” Akko ignored the mutters of “A-chan” that greeted that thought. “Then she’s got long black hair like Morgana is always portrayed and she’s probably tied to Luna Nova or else why would she be interested in Croix and Chariot? Everyone knows Luna Nova was founded over the portal to Avalon, where Morgana’s supposed to live. But that’s so obvious that I’m sure everyone else already figured out that it wasn’t that. Which is why I didn’t want to say anything.”

Silence greeted her once more. Finally Sucy asked, “How do you know that about the portal to Avalon?”

“Well, Chariot went to Luna Nova so of course I was going to read everything I could about her school, you know? Plus it was in the brochure. Didn’t you guys read it?”

Everyone nodded as though that explained it, even Chariot. 

“Akko,” Diana called once more.

“Yes?”

“You’re brilliant.”

ФЖФЖФЖФЖФЖФЖФЖФЖФ

_ Not so long ago at Luna Nova . . . _

“I am so proud of you, my darling. Moonlit Witch in your first year of Luna Nova. Few are even considered until their third year.”

“Thank you so much! I couldn’t have done it without you!”

“Pish posh. Talent like yours is lucky to come around once a generation. You are a credit to your family.”

The child’s eyes darkened, “They seem to think this was the bare minimum that I could do. Since Mother died, my aunt, everyone. It is like nothing I do will ever be good enough. Will ever be enough to save our family.”

“Listen to me, my darling. Family is not the blood that flows through your veins, but it is the ones you love. The ones you choose to stand beside. You are my family and I am so proud of you and your accomplishments. I cannot wait to see what you accomplish in the future.”

“I love you so much,” she blushed shyly, “Is that OK?”

“My darling, you could not possibly love me as much as I love you.”

“I mean as more than family though.”

“. . .”

“I know you’ve been hurt in the past, but I promise, I promise I will free you. I will release the Grand Triskelion and bring Yggdrasil to bloom. I will do everything I can to save you!”

“Enough of that talk, my darling. It is enough that you come to visit me in this hole.”

The young witch was upset at being rejected so immediately, but turned her quick mind to another problem she had been thinking about. “Does it hurt?”

“What, my darling?”

“Being imprisoned. Being a tree.”

“How do I explain it? It is like your blood is flowing in reverse. There is power inside your core that wants to explode, but you are like a turtle before a tidal wave. I am not as imprisoned as I once was; not like Merlin, not like Jennifer. I can speak to you after all. In another century I should be back to myself.”

“It’s true that the great witch Jennifer was imprisoned?”

“It’s a prison she chose at the end of her life. It was a great sacrifice on her part that enabled her to live on in a sense and be of service to the witches she loved. That was not the case with me.”

“Professor Woodward said you were dying.”

“That was the case.”

“She said that it was done to save your life.”

“That may be.”

“She said I should not speak to you anymore.”

“That would hurt me more than I think I could bear.”

“I’m not going to stop! And I will find the Claiomh Solais! I will bring magic back to the world! I will free you!”

“My darling, Croix. It is enough that you still remember me. The magic imprisoning me here plays with the mind of those that come. You are the first in centuries to ever return.”

“Doesn’t Professor Woodward come see you?”

“I have asked that she doesn’t.”

“But that’s not fair! She’s a dryad! She can join you in there and leave at will!”

“I’m afraid that the last time she did that she barely escaped with her life. I was still mad with heartache.”

“Your husband.”

“My lover. And . . . and also my child.”

“They took them from you.”

“I can never hold on to the things that I love.”

“I love you. I will be with you. I won’t forget about you!”

“Don’t make promises you can’t keep, my darling.”

“I will give you a child! I will be with you forever!”

“You are but a child yourself. This is a passing fancy. I don’t want to dream of a substitute for the life I had with a girl that is not yet a woman.”

“Please make me yours! Please claim me under the laws of magic!”

“You know not what you ask.”

“I do know! Please!”

“. . .”

“Don’t shut me out!”

“It is pervasive.”

“What?”

“My love for you.”

“Then you will claim me?”

“I will have you forget me.”

“What? No! You can’t!”

“If you live the sort of life that I believe you will, then you will never see me again.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“If you fall—if you fall from the path of light, if you fall from grace, then I will be there for you.”

“I don’t understand!”

“You are a beautiful, intelligent girl; maybe a bit too fastidious and determined, but your parents can be blamed for that. You have the brightest of futures ahead of you. I will not taint you, but I will be there for you when you need me.”

“Morgana!” Silence in the visage of a tree greeted her shout. “No! Morgana! I can’t lose you too! I’m so alone in the world! Please! Morgana!”

Croix fell to her knees. One moment she was crying, then her breath caught in her throat and her tears dried. “What? What am I doing in a cave?”

Looking around, she saw the great tree reaching its branches to the ceiling as though holding it up. “What a sad, old tree. Whoever heard of a tree blooming in a cave?”

She slowly rose to her feet, not bothering to dust off her knees. “Listen up you old tree! I am the newly crowned Moonlit Witch! I’m going to be a great witch someday! Just watch me!”

Croix loosened her tie and shook out her hair, already looking far more comfortable than most students ever do. Marching from the cave to rejoin her teammates in their celebration, Croix did not spare a second look behind her.

Morgana sighed and her branches shook. The voice from the darkness took her by surprise. “That was a kindness I did not expect you to still have within you.”

“Woodward. To see you again after all these years.”

“We were friends once, Morgana. More than that. We were family.”

“You lost the right to call yourself that.”

“I did everything I could for you! I slept with that, with that  _ man _ for you!”

“I still never knew whose side you were on right up until the end, you were such the perfect slut,” she sighed again, “It’s not important anymore. Just leave me in peace.”

Woodward stalked forward and placed both hands on Morgana’s trunk, “Please! Please don’t shut me out. Please let me join you!”

“I never loved you the way I loved her,” Morgana said coldly.

“That doesn’t matter! I promise Yggdrasil will bloom one day! I promise you will be free again!”

“That serves you more than it serves me. The  _ dryad of Yggdrasil _ ,” Morgana spit out Woodward’s title. “I would just be an extra.”

“You’d be the best extra!” Woodward pleaded, “Please let me join you. I still love you. I still need you!”

“You would not like it if you came inside me.”

“Please, I won’t give up on you.”

“You served the purpose I had for you and I still lost everything.”

“We all lost everything.”

“. . .”

“Please come back to me. We might not be able to go back to the way things were, but we can find a new happiness. Please, Morgana.”

“Can you return my child to life? My lover?”

“What about my guardians that you killed?!”

“There are sins on all sides I suppose.”

“So that’s your answer? You’re going to run away from life and hide in this prison for eternity?” When silence greeted Woodward’s words, “Goddamn you, Morgana!”

“Yes. You are correct. I am damned. Leave me in my hell and do not return.”

Woodward slumped away from Morgana’s trunk, and carefully retreated, making sure to not step on any of Morgana’s exposed roots. 

A black crow preened itself while nestled in Morgana’s branches. Once Woodward’s back disappeared from sight, it began cawing in raucous laughter.

“Can you not contain yourself for even a moment?”

The crow hopped to the ground and tilted its head at Morgana’s tree before assuming the form of her white-haired older sister. “It’s funny though?”

“What if she had heard you?”

“Then the dimwit would have come back to see a crow. Morgana, for our leader you sure are a coward.”

“You are the  Mórrígan, not I.”

“Honestly, you’re still going on about that. So what if history remembers me as a goddess and you as a spurned, weak woman. They’re hardly more favorable to your tool that just left.”

The Mórrígan stretched, emphasizing her sizable chest to the senses of Morgana. Although appearing slight and emaciated like she was always hungry, she was voluptuous and firm in all the right places. “Do not try to distract me.”

“Dear sister, how long are you going to continue? The Norn is giving me trouble; I need you to help me control it.”

“Dammit, I knew we should have never attempted such a thing.”

“We needed three for the ritual and for the rituals to come. She was tied to us. Whom else would we have chosen?”

“. . .”

“Your little fruit is not quite ripe for the picking just yet. I still hold that we should choose a warrior, but there has not been a really good war for some six decades now. The ghoul is ours now, a new sister. You should be proud of your accomplishments and not sitting here cosplaying as a tree.”

“Cosplaying?”

“You are truly out of the loop, my love. Come, let us depart before your pet summons another hurricane like she did last month.”

Black ether coalesced and stepped forth from the trunk of the tree. Morgana took shape and rolled her body in pleasure. “A hurricane you say?”

“Truly this form suits you. We have time. What say you we join together?”

“I do not fancy frostbite so soon after waking. Take me to our new sister.”

“Then clothe yourself. We depart now.”

In the next moment, the two witches were gone.

ФЖФЖФЖФЖФЖФЖФЖФЖФ

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Were you surprised with the reveal of Morgana? I thought I was borrowing too much from her playbook of the legend already with her actions towards Croix to be honest. Also, I super would not be surprised at all if Trigger’s Season 2 would totally have a Morgana character (since Luna Nova IS Glastonbury Tor, the supposed grave of King Arthur; seriously, go look up pictures and compare them to episode 1 when Akko gets to the leyline terminal). 
> 
> Oh, also, the Mórrígan / Madb is a combination of several legends including Morgause. The final member of their coven is a bit of a secret! 
> 
> AAANYWAY, please leave a comment or review if you enjoyed it! Your words keep me going!


	20. Episode 06 Part II - Of Kami and Fey

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi everyone. I had a very rough holiday and haven’t been in a mental state that is conducive to writing. It’s been wayyy too long with no updates and I’m very sorry. If anyone is still reading this, thank you for continuing. I’m sure as long as I’m still breathing, I’ll always come back to this story until someday it’s complete. I’m just not as sure that it will be anywhere near as fast as I thought it would be.
> 
> I’ll start posting updates (such as my delays and expected releases) on my Tumblr and Twitter.

**** Our Magic!   
Episode 06: Of Kami and Fey   
Part II

Chariot stared at the hotel room door with red-rimmed eyes. A mug of tea gone cold in her hand. The room’s darkness shrouded her face in shadows. 

“Professor?”

The timid question shocked her into recoiling, dropping her mug in the process. With reflexes honed on the battlefield, the flame-haired witch’s hand raced to intercept the falling porcelain. She deftly snagged it, and rolled her hand to catch the momentum of the fall, managing to avoid spilling the tea within.

“Wow,” the bespectacled Lotte remarked, channeling her inner Sucy, “When I think about it, it’s really hard to imagine that no one figured out your identity. You make even the most mundane things pretty incredible.”

“L-lotte,” Chariot replied with an attempt at her usual exasperated persona, “What can I do for you?”

Lotte’s eyes slid towards the closed door before returning to her teacher. Chariot sighed in pain. “She needs sleep more than anything.”

“It doesn’t sound like she’s sleeping. Everyone’s worried. Well, Akko is somehow sleeping through it and Diana was ready to crucify anyone that would wake her up. Even Sucy backed off at that.”

“Akko . . .”

“She’s really not stupid, you know.”

“W-what?”

“I know I agreed with Sucy back then and said she’s an idiot, but she’s our idiot, and I don’t mean to say she’s stupid when I say she’s an idiot. It’s just, well, she’s Akko.”

“I know that, Lotte,” Chariot said tenderly, “She’s our Akko.”

“She’s not stupid, but,” Lotte’s voice grew hoarse as she struggled to continue, “She’s-she’s not ready for this.”

Chariot turned sympathetic eyes towards the young girl. “None of you are ready for this. I—”

Lotte cut her off sharply, “Don’t!” she lowered her voice after seeing Chariot taken aback, “Don’t blame yourself. That won’t help anyone. It’s done.”

Chariot remained quiet, thinking.

“What is it?”

“You’re not going to bring up something from  _ Night Fall _ ?” Chariot teased gently redirecting her student.

Lotte huffed and whispered furiously, “I don’t  _ always _ bring it up!”

A cry from within drew the attention of both. Lotte looked to Chariot. “I—I’ll think of something.”

Lotte turned to go, but thought better of it, “We all discussed something else too.”

Chariot sought Lotte’s eyes behind her glasses, “Yes, what is it?”

“She can’t go back to jail. Not like this.”

Chariot turned back to her vigil at Croix’s door, nodding absentmindedly.

ФЖФЖФЖФЖФЖФЖФЖФЖФ

“YOU GUYS ARE LEAVING?” Akko’s shout threatened to tear down the building more than the recent earthquakes.

“Geez, that girl’s got lungs,” Croix commented. The other nine witches nodded in agreement without realizing. 

“Don’t change the topic! Talk to me,” Akko stared at her two teachers before continuing in a smaller voice, “You’re going to miss the festival.”

Most of the witches had trouble looking at Akko at that moment, but Akko was solely focused on Croix and Chariot, so she didn’t even notice Diana’s look of anguish. 

“You think we haven’t been to a Japanese festival? How many times do you think we came to Japan touring?” Croix asked. 

“Once!” Akko declared. “You came once and had a huge fight so you probably didn’t even get to enjoy it!”

“Tch, forgot I was talking to Miss Superfan.”

“Never forget! Mwa ha ha ha!” Akko boasted loudly with her hands on her hips in a Superman pose.

“Akko, we’re leaving,” Chariot said coaxingly.

“Stay.”

Croix defended the decision. “Sorry kiddo, it’s nothing personal.”

“You should be with us.”

The statement made Croix pause, but Chariot had enough. “Akko we’re leaving. Croix can’t stay in one place for too long or else she’ll be arrested again.”

“Wait,  _ YOU _ are going on the run with Croix-sensei?”

“I’ll figure something out.”

Akko shook her head, then finally seemed to remember everyone else. “You’re all fine with this? Don’t you want them to stay with us?”

Her eyes sought out each of the eyes of her friends, resting lastly on Diana. Diana spoke up, unable to ignore the look of pain in her girlfriend’s exhausted eyes, “It is for the best . . .”

“I’m against it,” Akko said resolutely. 

“Why are you so against this, Akko? We will be reunited once more at Luna Nova. They are merely cutting this trip a little short. With everything that has happened, it is more than understandable.”

“With everything that has happened . . . Croix should be with us. We’ll protect her!”

“I don’t want it,” Croix said harshly. 

“What?”

“I don’t want you to protect me, Akko. I’ve had enough of you cleaning up my messes. Just let me go. Come on, Chari. I’m done talking about this. Or stay—if that’s more important to you.”

Croix turned away and started towards the door. Chariot took one last look at Akko before following.

“Wait!” Akko shouted after them. “Wait! At least let me send you off!”

“Huh?” “Eh?” Croix and Chariot responded similarly, stopping in their tracks and turning back to the young witch.

“Back to Luna Nova! I can open up a leyline to get there, you know? Just like the first time I went there. If Woodward can do it, then I can do it!” She tried to snap her fingers as though to demonstrate the ease she could channel the magics of the Shiny Rod, but no sound came out. Akko looked aghast at her fingers that had betrayed her before trying two times more, finally managing to get an audible snap for everyone to hear. 

Sucy did not bother to hide her laugh while everyone else seemed suitably exasperated. Diana for some reason was staring at Akko with love in her eyes. Croix looked to Chariot, and Chariot looked to Croix. “Well?” Croix asked. 

Chariot shook her head and shrugged her shoulders, giving up on common sense for the day. “Are we really thinking of doing this?”

“What’s the worst that could happen?”

ФЖФЖФЖФЖФЖФЖФЖФЖФ

They moved to the park and for some reason, Akko insisted on wearing her white witch battle uniform. After trying the spell for a dozen times (one of which had left Diana short-circuited from the amount of skin on display) she finally got it close enough to be wearable and the group said their goodbyes. 

It was more emotional than just a trip home, and a lot was left unsaid. Only the forever in her own pace Sucy managed to break the tension with her sardonic, “This is probably the last time we—or anyone else for that matter—will ever see you. You are going into a wormhole opened up by  _ Akko _ after all.”

“HEY!” Akko shouted. “You traveled through a wormhole I opened up too!”

“I was unconscious for that.”

Akko opened her mouth to retort, but fumbled for what to say. “A-anyway! Let’s get going! If you two are going to be dumb and leave, then let’s go!”

Akko held her hand up and the Shiny Arc dropped effortlessly into her hand from thin air. Everyone took note at that development, but Akko forestalled any questions, launching quickly into “Noctu Ordei Aude Fraetor! SHIIIINY ARC!”

She launched the bolt of energy at the feet of Chariot and Croix. The two witches did not even have time to jump as the floor opened up beneath them and swallowed them whole.

Everyone else took a few steps back, but Akko leaned over the open portal and waved, smiling. “HAVE! A! NICE! TRIP!”

As soon as the portal closed, Akko slumped to the floor. Diana rushed to her side, “A~ko!”

Akko allowed the blonde witch to embrace her, but shook off her questions, “I’m fine Diana. I just don’t think that was a good idea.”

Diana adopted a stoic face as she steeled herself to keep the truth from Akko once more. “A~ko,” she began.

“When-when something like that happens, even if you want to be alone, even if you  _ need _ to be alone. You need more to be with people that care about you and love you and aren’t going to be judging you. The last thing you should do is go on a manhunt from the law.”

No one bothered to correct Akko on what a manhunt is, the realization that she knew Croix’s secret just the same as the rest of them taking precedence. The reason why she seemed so tired dawned on those of them that had noticed but hadn’t thought to question it. She had been pretending to sleep through Croix’s cries the night before. Of course she had noticed, who cares about their loved ones more than Akko?

Diana began to cry and buried her face in Akko’s shoulder as she hugged her tighter. The sudden tremor knocked everyone but Constanze and Jasminka to the ground. “Ouch!” “What the—” “Um, guys?”

Amanda’s question directed everyone’s gaze to her. She pointed, “Look at that.”

All around them, trees were swaying even though the shaking had stopped. Next to Diana and Akko a sudden spurt of muddy water caught them by surprise and turned into a sudden reverse flooding. 

Another tremor shook them even more and trees began to uproot. Water rose up from solid ground and flowed to the lowest elevations, saturating everything. 

Akko wailed in dismay, “This is totally not because of me!”

ФЖФЖФЖФЖФЖФЖФЖФЖФ

The nine young witches took refuge with the other park-goers on a small hill, Akko flying around on the Shiny Volley and collecting more and more people as the others tried to find out what was going on. 

When Akko at last touched down, her eyes started to roll up in her head as she struggled to stay upright. Lotte and Sucy immediately supported her from both sides, faster than the slower-than-normal injured Diana. Diana allowed her cheeks to puff out in annoyance once Akko regained her balance and stepped free of them. 

The largest tremor yet chose that time to strike. Everyone that wasn’t already on the ground stumbled and the cries of children rose above the crowd. Akko pleaded, “It’s really not because of me . . . right?”

A long siren cut through the noise of the crowd. Akko grew pale and began to shake. 

“Akko, what is it?” Lotte asked in concern.

“Constanze! Do we know what’s going on?” Akko brushed off the question, turning her attention to the technowitch. Constanze had finished connecting a couple borrowed smartphones to her stanbot and an image of a newswoman was projected above it. 

The audio cut in and out, but the word “kaijuu” was clearly stated in the silence after the siren.

“Did that bitch just say kaijuu?” Amanda asked. “Was that a mother-flipping Godzilla alarm?”

Akko shook her head and said simply, “No.”

“Then what was it for?”

“Tsunami.”

ФЖФЖФЖФЖФЖФЖФЖФЖФ

“Um.”

“Yeah.”

“That’s.”

“Yeah.”

“This isn’t reality.”

“Yeah.”

“How.”

“Yeah.”

“Really.”

“Yeah.”

“Something like this.”

“Yeah.”

“. . .”

“Yeah.”

Everyone stared at the magnified picture of the kaijuu displayed on the stanbot.

It was a catfish.

A really, really, really big catfish.

Flying through the air. 

Above an ocean racing along with it.

“I mean, at least it’s just water, right?” Amanda asked tentatively, “We know it’s coming, we just need to get to higher ground.”

“They’re saying it’s bigger than 2011,” Akko said dispassionately.

“2011?” Hannah asked, unsure of the reference.

Diana supplied the information for her shell-shocked girlfriend, “It was a tsunami that hit Japan. It was a major disaster.”

“18 thousand,” Akko proffered. 

“18 thousand what?”

“Dead.”

“Th-that many!” Barbara gasped in horror. 

“Don’t worry. It won’t hit here. These quakes are just the remnants. We moved here—” Akko cut herself off. 

Diana’s eyes widened, “Were you there?!”

Akko nodded without looking, her eyes focused on the television projection. “Yeah.”

“A~ko . . .” Diana began.

“There’s nothing we can do. Just watch as it happens again.”

None of them had ever heard Akko sound like this before. Sucy cut through, “Which of you are the real Akko?”

“Huh?”

“The bumbling, cheerful idiot that literally made the world smile or this hopeless, shell of a witch?”

“Sucy,” Akko said in disbelief.

“No. This isn’t how Akko would react. React like Akko dammit!” Sucy stepped forward and physically shook Akko’s shoulders. The two tumbled over. Sucy did not relinquish her grip, but squeezed her eyes shut as tears fell to the astonished witch beneath her.

Akko gasped softly, “I wasn’t sure you could cry, Sucy.” 

“I’m still part human, you idiot!”

Akko looked around at her friends. Jasminka that had a white-knuckle grip on herself to keep from offering cookies; the silent Constanze whose sad eyes spoke volumes; Amanda herself moments away from exploding like Sucy had and now trying to pretend she wasn’t going to; Lotte with her glasses in hand as she tried to wipe away the tears filling her large eyes; Hannah biting her thumb in worry and Barbara with her hands wrapped around herself.

To Diana, halfway between trying to stop Sucy and not being sure if she should let it go on, continuing to half step forward before shaking her head, looking about as confused as the blonde heiress has ever looked. 

Akko laughed, “Wow, I’m an idiot.”

Sucy pushed her against the ground roughly, “That’s what I’ve been saying!”

That was the tipping point for Diana, and she forcibly removed the witch from her girlfriend. 

Akko continued laying on the ground, wiping her eyes. “A~ko?”

“This isn’t like the last time!” Akko sat up with a shout.

“Because you’re inland this time?” Amanda asked.

“Because I have magic this time!”

ФЖФЖФЖФЖФЖФЖФЖФЖФ

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I feel like this is a little short, but I think this is probably the best place to cut it for this part. If you’re interested, the catfish is based on the kami Nazamu; the water rushing out is something that sometimes happens during earthquakes called liquefaction; and the tsunami in 2011 is one of the largest and most expensive disasters ever. It’s impossible that Akko hadn’t at least lived through it while inhabiting the country it occurred in, so I thought it would make this storyline a little more personal for her to be confronted with the same thing as had devastated her homeland, but this time it being caused by her actions with Diana in Season 1.
> 
> Thank you so much for reading. Your comments/reviews and favorites/kudos while I’ve been gone have been a source of strength for me. I can’t tell you how much I appreciate it.


	21. Episode 06: Of Kami and Fey: Part III

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh hey, I’m alive. Words don’t exist to tell everyone that has messaged and commented and reviewed how much they mean to me. I’m still struggling, but I’m getting help now when I wasn’t before. Anyway, I don’t want to be too down before getting back into our lovely witches. I just finished re-watching S1 on Netflix (Japanese audio, no subtitles since Netflix suckkkksssssssss on the dub and subs for LWA) and will probably revisit the Asenshi subs of the last sequence of episodes sometime soon; I also just reread everything I’ve written for this. Wow! A lot of minor errors that would have been super easily caught if I was at all capable haha.

A few pages of character notes followed by a few paragraphs of recap ahead to start out with; feel free to skip to the content of the chapter (probably easiest to search for "Our Magic")

Current status of the girls and their known relationships:

 **Diana x Akko** — They are admittedly in love and “girlfriends”. Most people that possess eyes and a brain are aware of the two’s feelings even before they were. Diana is suffering several broken bones and other injuries from falling off a building. Diana was in a wheelchair until yesterday, but left it behind in disgust. Diana has reached the point that magical healing no longer has an effect on her. Akko is suffering magic fatigue and believes she is dying from using magic. Her physical abilities, both reactions and strength/stamina, have been heightened through contact with Yggdrasil. Akko can use magic anywhere in the world, including the Seven Words of Arcturus. Akko has also become able to sense the interconnectivity of nature and Yggdrasil around her.

 **Amanda** — Amanda has come out as in love with both Diana and Akko and is doing her best to try to support their relationship even as it breaks her heart. Diana and Akko are upset about how Amanda is feeling, but currently cannot imagine involving her in their relationship. Amanda has been seeking solace by cuddling Constanze as “friends” and seeking advice from Jasminka. She is at her limit emotionally.

 **Hannah and Barbara** — They have come out to their friends as girlfriends after deluding Diana for a substantially long time that their romantic feelings were what “best friends” do and being in the closet. Luna Nova student body and teachers are unaware the two are together and Avery is similarly completely unaware that the two are together or are not heterosexual. Hannah has been in almost an apprentice-like relationship with Jasminka recently and has been expanding her culinary skills. Barbara has become very close with Lotte, bonding over their love of the Night Fall series and the desire to ship various people in their lives together. Both Hannah and Barbara have become close friends with Akko and have admitted they have had a crush on Diana, although their friendship with Diana is much more important to them. Hannah has attempted to help by taking on more of a leadership role within the group of witches, supporting in a more overt way than Lotte while trying to lessen the load of Diana and Akko. Barbara has attempted to help by being an emotional core for her group and keeping a sensible head in a more overt way than Jasminka while trying to lessen the load of Diana and Akko.

 **Sucy** — Sucy has been keeping her feelings apart from everyone, but has become closer to Constanze recently in playing video games and watching movies and anime. She is closely observing Amanda’s actions with Constanze, Barbara’s actions with Lotte, and Akko with Diana. Upon coming into contact with Morgana, Sucy’s body fell apart, a defensive mechanism her family has. Since then, it has been much easier for her to lose her head and other body parts. She has revealed to all the non-Red Team witches that her grandma was not human and this is a holdover from that heritage (the Red Team already knew). Sucy has let her true feelings come out not infrequently as her friends have faced increasing danger and the risk of death.

 **Lotte** — Lotte has continued in the support role while becoming closer to everyone, especially Barbara. She appears to have no desire for herself to take center stage in relationships, although there has been no apparent interaction with Frank in quite a while so that is an unknown. She is aware of the way others feel for her, but continues to push them to do their best in their own way. Her affinity and ability with sprites have reached new heights and she is now able to incarnate a willing sprite to possess their abilities when needed. As part of her incarnation of Takeminakata, she has learned fluent Japanese and been exposed to the knowledge of the Dragon Ball Z anime (which Takeminakata appears to be a fan of).

 **Constanze** — Although still remaining mute most of the time, Constanze has continued to become closer to other witches outside of the Green Team, especially Sucy and Akko. Her Stanbots have become more efficient and run longer on less magic while they have expanded their functions. Since Diana and Akko have become physical, Constanze has become a regular comfort to Amanda. It is unknown how Constanze feels about Amanda, but Sucy is keeping a close eye on the situation and Constanze has prevented her from interfering on more than one occasion.

 **Jasminka** — Jasminka has had to step forward to help Amanda more and more since Diana and Akko got together. She has always been the emotional core of the Green Team, and acts more like a mom or older sister while remaining enigmatic and making sure everyone is well-fed, but she is starting to cover more for Amanda recently. She has expanded her protective older sister role not just to the Red and Blue Teams, but also to Professor Chariot, going so far as to physically intimidate Croix.

 **Croix** — Croix has admitted that she needs help and sought psychiatric treatment while arrested. She was willingly using her talents and abilities for the good of all witches without choosing to force others into what she thinks is right. She is working on her morals while researching any way to undo the harm she has done. Her warnings that the Sorcerer Stones would overload were dismissed along with other cautions (such as ancient myths resurrecting and rampaging like Morgana and Nazamu), but after people started to realize she was correct, they dispatched her to the field where she could do more good. The promise of being able to see and help Chariot and Akko overcame her reluctance to leave the structure of the prison/research facility she was in and she became watched by the wizard Balto. When Balto was killed by magic, she knew she would be a suspect and believed that the true target would be Chariot and Akko. She fled into Morgana’s trap. Her first year at Luna Nova, Croix fell in love with Morgana who at that time was pretending to be imprisoned within a tree. Croix begged Morgana to claim her and Morgana erased any memory of her, simultaneously leaving the desire to unleash the Grand Triskelion while selectively erasing memories to banish the diligence imposed in her by her distant family and influence her descent. Croix has been both mentally and physically assaulted by Morgana to the point of breaking, and this was mostly done with Morgana in the guise of Chariot. Morgana appears to be able to completely control her body magically, although Croix was able to perform an action while Morgana was distracted (cut her own throat). It is unknown if this was to save Chariot or an attempted suicide. As a result of the torture performed by Morgana, Croix is no longer able to be healed magically.

Croix loves and adores Chariot and believes Chariot is capable of anything. She has mostly put her intense jealousy of Chariot behind them and now only feels remorse for the pain and suffering she has caused for both Chariot and Akko and those close to the two. It is more difficult for her to care about the feelings of those distant from Chariot and Akko like those hurt in the riots and other incidents she was responsible for, but she realizes the problem and is trying to learn to be better. She believes that she is extremely damaged and the fact that Chariot and Akko forgave her so easily and Chariot loves her so strongly is one of the biggest stressors for her. She thinks of Akko as someone she can have fun being mischievous with (similarly to some of Amanda’s views on Akko), a dear niece to protect, and a rival for Chariot’s affection. She views Diana as someone that is overly capable and a rival for Chariot’s affection.

 **Chariot** — Chariot has been revealed to be an orphan and to be the once-girlfriend of Croix. She is passionately in love with Croix and is doing her best to be supportive and help her lover grow, while being concerned that she is unable to truthfully distrust her. She is terrified that her love of Croix will somehow endanger Akko, Diana, or the other girls once more and is unable to resolve the mental strain of trusting and distrusting someone that she loves and has betrayed her. She is also terrified of being forced to choose between being with Croix and her life as Ursula. Chariot is aware that she has become overly close to all three covens of witches, Red, Blue, and Green, and that she has intense feelings of love for Akko and Diana especially—as her fans, as someone she has wronged in the past, as her students, as amazing people, and when she can admit it, as daughters. Chariot has also been revealed to have been a wandering warrior in the time between the end of her act as Shiny Chariot and the beginning of her tenure as the professor Ursula. It is implied that this is when Madb took especial notice of her and began desiring her for Morgana’s coven. Chariot has recently begun attempting to reach for the powers of the Shiny Rod by directly accessing the magics of Yggdrasil.

 **Woodward** — Woodward is known to be a dryad of Yggdrasil. The full extent of what this means is still unknown, but it is clear that Woodward has a much closer relationship with the state of magic over the entire world than previously thought. She is able to open leyline terminals and direct the branches of Yggdrasil, and possesses an immense amount of power and knowledge. At some point in her past, she was seduced by Morgana and became her accomplice, before being betrayed. Morgana implied that Woodward was known to history as a slut, but Morgana herself has an unfavorable historical record so it is unknown how much was truth and how much was venom. Morgana slew Woodward’s and Yggdrasil’s guardians. After killing Balto, Morgana chased Croix to Woodward and engaged in battle; Morgana clearly overpowered the dryad, cut off a branch of Yggdrasil that Croix was currently traveling through, and wounding Woodward.

 **Atsumi and Sasaki “Suke” Kagari** — Akko’s mother and father. Shown briefly in the manga (unnamed). Atsumi has black hair she regularly keeps in a ponytail and is fairly skinny. Akko probably inherited her body type from her mother, so she’s not exactly a tall woman. Akko also probably inherited the incredible amount of energy and absurdity her mother exudes. Sasaki is more of a straight man (tsukkomi) to Atsumi, but he is easily able to keep up with her and usually prefers to encourage her than reel her back. Atsumi is currently suffering from being confronted with Shiny Chariot in the flesh, whom she had always had a crush on and used to spice up her bedroom life with Sasaki back when Akko was still a child. Atsumi and Sasaki have long been aware that their daughter has chosen a difficult path in life, and after coming to terms with her heroism during the missile crisis, they have pledged to support her in anything she chooses to do with her heart behind it, even if that means Akko and her friends are in danger.

 **Morgana le Faye** — Going by the name Ana, Morgana has been influencing the chess pieces around her to her own ends for far longer than most people are aware. Long ago, she was apparently wounded terribly enough that she sought refuge in the prison of a tree to heal her wounds. Few believed she would be able to recover at all and no one believed she would be able to recover while magic was diminishing across the planet. Long before the World Reconstruction Magic, Morgana has been free of the prison. She joined with the Queene of Winter, Madb, known as the Morrígan and together, the two of them resurrected a former enemy that was one of the Norns.

Faerie Queens are known to possess power at least rivaling that of the full strength of the Claiomh Solais and Morgana has shown to be able to withstand the best Chariot could throw at her and easily overpower Woodward. The depths of her powers are unknown, but Queene Madb acknowledges her as superior. She has become infatuated with Croix. She still resents the shared history she has with Woodward. Both Woodward and Morgana have revealed that she has lost her former lover and also her child, and Woodward at least believes that this is the main reason Morgana has become so evil.   
According to the legends known by the witches of Luna Nova, Morgana was a great faerie witch rivaling the power of the wizard Merlin. She disguised herself as Guinevere and incestuously lay with her brother, King Arthur, bearing the child Mordred. Some legends claim that Madb took this role instead, but in present-day, Morgana disguised herself as Chariot to lay with Croix, leading credence to the belief that it was Morgana all along. However, Morgana does refer to her former lover as being female, so it is unknown if Arthur or someone else is who she means.

Morgana is a beauty amongst the faeries, the ugliest of which is considered beautiful by mortals. She is tall with raven-dark hair and purple eyes. Her lips are always painted the color of blood and her skin possesses an otherworldly sheen like alabaster.

 **Madb, Queene of Winter, the Morrígan, Battle Crow, Great Ruler of Phantoms** — A harbinger of war, death, and victory, Madb has had many faces over the centuries. She is known to be able to change shape into a crow. In her “human” form, she is an emaciated beauty with curves and an unnatural strength that belie her hunger. She exudes an unnatural coldness from her body that some claim will bring frostbite just by touching. Her hair is the color of snow. She is a creature of passion, desiring conflict, sexual love, and warmth at all times.

 **Undead Norn (unknown name)** — Resurrected with magic as a ghoul by Morgana and Madb, her personality has become twisted in undeath. Formerly a guardian of Yggdrasil, this insane girl exudes both vivaciousness and rot. Her body has exceeded what it was in life, maturing and becoming the perfect avatar of her powers. She is known to be able to coalesce from darkness and is responsible for a terrible hurricane during Croix’s first year at Luna Nova. She seems primarily to desire her own death, which she claims only Morgana can grant her, but even Madb is cautious around her, not being able to understand or predict her desires and actions.

Did I forget anyone? ANYWAY, if you read through all of that, GOOD ON YOU. Quick recap: **The story so far:**   
Akko channeled all of Yggdrasil through her back during the missile crisis which caused her magic to go pretty bad at the start of S2. She realized that her body was acting as the Shiny Rod and she could channel magic anywhere in the world just by thinking of Diana. Diana and Akko went through a bit of a confusing start but now are happily girlfriend and girlfriend. Everyone came to Japan to bring Akko back and get Diana and Akko together. A coven of super-powerful witches consisting of Morgana le Faye, the Morrígan going by the name Madb, and an undead Norn whose identity hasn’t been revealed killed Croix’s wizard guard/handler and Croix is on the run. She fled to Japan, believing that Chariot and Akko were the real target. There she ran afoul of Morgana who claimed her as her own and did some rather horrible torture in the first M-rated chapter. Chariot ended up finding her, but could not break the voodoo spell Morgana had over Croix. Croix succeeded in slicing her own throat, to which Morgana gave up on her in disgust.

Chariot, with a wounded Woodward’s assistance, managed to unlock the Seventh Word to rewind the ravages of Croix’s body and save her life. Back in whatever land Morgana calls home, she met with the rest of her coven and seized upon the idea of resurrecting Croix as an undead creature much like her and Madb had done with the third member of their coven.

With Akko’s help, Chariot and Croix left Japan to attempt to hide Croix from the law—everyone fearing how returning to jail would affect Croix’s devastated psyche. Immediately after they left, a great kami catfish broke through the final barrier holding him in check, causing massive earthquakes. Akko pushed herself to help rescue the people around them that were affected by the shocks they felt at her location; afterwards everyone found out through Constanze’s monitoring of the news that the kami is currently heading towards Japan along with an incredible tsunami.

A despondent Akko was literally shaken out of it by an enraged Sucy. Of note: Akko previously lived through the tsunami of 2011 and had moved with her family inland after losing their home. 

 

Content warning: There is a character that suffers a panic attack from PTSD during this chapter. I just wrote it like one of my panic attacks, but obviously substituting in the content of the story (and the much more horrible history of the character) and what I wanted to convey with it. I apologize if it's not how your experience of PTSD is, everyone experiences it somewhat differently I'm sure. 

 

Our Magic!  
Episode 06: Of Kami and Fey  
Part III

“What can we do to help?” Diana asked. Diana has always been watching Akko and could tell that the recent rescues along with using the Shiny Arc to send off Chariot and Croix had Akko on her last reserves of strength.

Akko gave her a bitter smile in return, taking in the bruised and bandaged Diana, then turned her attention to everyone else. “We’re in Japan. I’m not going to say it’s not your responsibility to help, because honestly, I know I need it.”

Akko averted her eyes from Sucy, avoiding the thought of what she would have been doing left to stew in her memories. She continued, “There’s no magic for you guys here. That big fish is flying over the ocean with a tsunami. I don’t see how any of you are _able_ to help.”

Diana took a faltering step and threw her arms around Akko, pulling her as close as possible and ignoring the pain of her injuries. She whispered in her ear, “I believe in your believing heart, Akko. I believe in you, but I swear to God if you do not come back to me I am going to go to the afterlife and drag you back with me.”

Akko pulled away slightly to look into Diana’s eyes concernedly, “How are you going to do that?”

Diana smiled through her tears. “How do you think.” She said it as a statement, then pulled Akko to her once more. She bit her ear and moved lower, pressing her teeth against Akko’s neck. Needing to feel the pressure of her body.

The klaxon rang out in the background, jolting Akko and causing her to shudder in Diana’s arms. Diana squeezed her tighter. “You can do this. You can save everyone. Only you can do it, my Akko. Only you can do it. You will come back to me.”

Hannah looked over Constanze’s shoulder at the reports and tremulously spoke up, “Akko. If you’re going to go . . .”

Akko stepped away from her girlfriend. She held her hand out away from the both of them while a phantom Shiny Rod dropped into her waiting palm. She whispered the fifth word of Arcturus and the staff metamorphosed into the Shiny Volley. Diana stood in front of her with tears streaming down her cheeks, smiling at her.

A low growl filled Akko’s throat and she seized Diana once more, passionately kissing her while the Shiny Volley in her other hand began to lift her away. Diana’s hands lingered in the air long after Akko lifted away. Finally, Diana mouthed the words, “Come back,” as Akko turned and fully mounted the Volley.

A shockwave erupted with her passing as Akko rapidly accelerated to at least as fast as the speed it took the full magics of nine witches to reach before. When she could no longer be seen, Diana collapsed to her knees in sobs.

No one could say anything, but Diana’s sobs were not the only ones heard from the witches left behind.

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“Breathe, come on dear. Look at me. Breathe, you’re with me. Feel my hand. I’m here. Feel my hand in yours.” Atsumi held tightly to her husband’s hand and rubbed his chest with her other. Suke was doing his best to not hyperventilate as tears streamed down his cheeks.

Atsumi could not stop her own tears, but knew Suke was struggling more. “I-I-we need . . .”

“We’re inland. There’s no way it’s coming here. We bought an earthquake-proof house. It’s not going to collapse like your office building. Focus on me hun, focus on me. You’re with me.”

To Akko, the days after the tsunami had been nightmarish. Their home had been destroyed; they barely made it out before the waters came through. Atsumi and Akko lived amongst the refugees that were their entire town—those that had been similarly lucky.

To her father, Sasuki, it had been a literal hell.

Buried inside his building. Hearing the groans and cries of his coworkers as they were crushed. Trying to understand their voices to know who was still alive and who was dead. Losing feeling in his body as he struggled with all of his might to hold his head above the rising water. The eventual silence broken only by his gasps as he struggled to breathe.

He had been one of the lucky ones as well. He escaped with his life. Although, when he wakes up in the middle of the night and cannot hear the breathing of his wife he wonders if he is still under that building as his friends died one by one. Wonders how much of himself he lost that day.

“Breathe baby, breathe. You can do it. I’m here with you. You’re not alone. I love you. I love you. I love you. I’m so happy you’re with me today. So happy we’re together. I love you. Look at me. Look at me.”

Sasuki struggled to make eye contact with his darling wife. He placed his other hand on top of hers on his chest and pushed down. “A-A-ko.”

“Shh. She’s a witch. She’s the safest of us all.”

Suke groaned and shook his head, “No. We need to. We need to. Dammit, we need to get to her. She’s going to do. I can hear. They’re dying. I can hear them dying. I can’t breathe. Akko’s going. Akko. You know she’s going to do something.”

Atsumi smiled at her husband’s strength as tears splashed her cheeks. “Shh. I know she will. That’s why I’m not worried. Shh. Once this passes we’ll watch our daughter on the news become an even bigger hero. You’re reliving hell and all you can think about is our daughter. I love you so much. We’re going to be fine. I love you. Focus on me. Focus on the pressure. I love you.”

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Akko knew a lot about tsunami.

The idea of a singular wave rising up and crashing against the island was pretty much a myth.

The entire ocean rose and rushed forward.

But all Akko could think of were the anime that did have waves like that as she looked up, and up, and up at the oncoming wall of water.

The golden fish bigger than a bus violently thrashing as it threw itself into the water again and again before erupting and swimming through the air was not present in those childhood anime however.

“That’s a big fish.”

Akko was struggling to find herself. Her mind was circling and racing about everything in front of her. Without warning, her broom cut out and she dropped through the air.

Concentrating, she arrested her fall. Looking up again and she began to fall again. And repeat. “Nani kore?!”

She finally was able to stabilize her broom as she fell to the water. Her feet skidded across the surface as she transferred her falling velocity back across the water and flew up into the air.

Akko turned her head to watch the wall of water and the great fish; as she did, a twinge of pain on her neck caused her to remember the painful kiss Diana had given her. _Did she think ahead that far too? With a witch like Diana Cavendish I wouldn’t put it past her._

She was focused. She was on fire. _DIANA!_

“Noctu Orfei Aude Fraetor! Shiny Arc!” Another phantom Shiny Rod coalesced into Chariot’s great bow as she fired a bolt of energy at her opponent. Akko knew from experience that it would probably take more than one blow, so she concentrated to maintain the form of the bow.

“Nani kore?!”

Unlike against the winged hound that could take more than a few blows, the energy burst apart upon hitting the great fish. She could see the energy envelop it as a cloud and then the fish was through it completely unscathed. “It didn’t do anything?!”

It did not even turn in her direction.

“Noctu Orfei Aude Fraetor! Shiny Arc!” This time Akko turned her attention to the wall of water. The blast pierced through for dozens of meters, flash boiling the ocean it passed through and causing an explosion of steam. As far away as she hovered, she could still feel a gust of hot air rebound past her.

The ocean was surging. For as far as the young witch could see in front and to the side, a wall of water faced her down. Her Shiny Arc had taken out the equivalent of a single brick and the progress had been immediately filled back in. She started flying south to see if she could tell the extent. Akko knew she was no good at math, but tried nonetheless to visualize exactly how many Shiny Arcs it might take to be able to reverse the tide as she flew.

“Ichi, ni, san, . . .” She picked up speed and began counting by the tens, “ni-juu, san-juu, . . .” knowing it was pointless after the first five, she accelerated once more, and counted by the hundreds . . .  
“Just from the center to here, it would take thousands. Thousands! What am I going to do?!”

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If you were to ask Akko what exactly she loved about Diana, after the first few minutes of being stunned and embarrassed, and gushing out about how pretty and talented she is, Akko would start to talk about Diana’s believing heart.

A witch that had the expectations of the entire magical world on her shoulders, but kept moving resolutely forward. As a little girl, Diana found the magic in magic. More than just a means to live like her older family treated it, Diana was amazed with the wonder of magic.

When her heart was broken from the death of her father, she still had magic. She still was able to make others smile even when she could not smile herself.

When the woman she idolized stole magic from her without her knowledge, she never gave up hope. She never stopped reaching back for the feeling that magic gave her. Never stopped moving forward.

When her mother died.

When her aunt tried to suffocate the joy from her life.

When she started to feel the weight of the world’s expectations, her family’s expectations, she kept going.

She studied and learned more. More magic, more ancient knowledge, more lost secrets. If the world would not fix itself, then she was going to. She would unearth the Grand Triskelion and reinvigorate magic herself.

Magic was wonder. It held the power to heal. Heal individuals. Heal countries. Heal the world. Diana moved forward.

Even when she discovered that she could not do it herself, that a witch of ignoble birth with not even half her talent or knowledge was the chosen one. There was no jealousy or ugly emotions. She wasn’t alone anymore.

She was moving forward and helping Akko move forward too. When her responsibilities and loneliness threatened to swallow her whole, Akko brought her forward. No one since her mom had done that.  
Akko wouldn’t tell you that part though. Instead, Akko would tell you how much she learned from Diana. What a hard-worker Diana was.

Because Akko saw the effort Diana put in. She knew it was not all natural talent, although she knew Diana had that in spades. And no matter what, Akko would tell you that Diana is the single most talented, most deserving, most amazing witch, most amazing woman, most amazing person in the world.

Well, Akko is rather biased though.

All of these thoughts ran through Akko and Diana’s friends as they watched Diana suddenly cease her sobs and stand up without hesitation.

The energy in the air was singular to that moment over the course of their entire lives.

But Diana had felt it before.

Diana had stood with Akko as Akko rejuvenated the world.

Diana’s believing heart lay wide open to Akko’s as the energies of Yggdrasil crashed into the heroic girl Diana loves.

“Th-there is something,” Diana stated as she reached her hand out.

The wind began to pick up.

Diana’s friends were pushed back.

A mournful creak escalated into a deafening crack as a branch broke free from a nearby ash tree.

The branch careened end over end on a collision course with the blonde Atlas.

No one could say anything, they did not need to. The branch struck Diana’s open palm and stayed their as if glued. Diana did not budge. Her hand reached out with her eyes closed, trying to feel the energy. “There is something. I-I can do it. I am going.”

Her eyes snapped open to regard the branch in her hand. Power discharged from her hand, carving the branch into the shape of a bristle-less broom. _Akko, I am coming to you!_

“Tia Freyre!”

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End file.
